A Haunted House
by Hannahfour
Summary: It's almost Halloween and Heidi wants to do the same things Guthrie gets to do on Halloween night, but Adam thinks she's too young. Can Heidi and Guthrie come up with a plan that works so she can go with him? And, could the McFadden house be a haunted house like Heidi thinks it is?
1. Chapter 1

I hate raking leaves! Especially by myself. If Guthrie didn't have a friend over right now he'd be helping me.

It's fall and that means it's getting colder outside. I don't like it when it gets colder because that means Guthrie and I don't get to go exploring as much. It also gets darker earlier which means we have to go inside sooner. The only thing I like about fall is Halloween. And I love Halloween!

I look over at the house because I hear the front door open. Guthrie and his friend Kenny are coming outside. I don't really like Kenny too much. My brothers think I'm jealous of him because Guthrie doesn't play with me when he's here. But I'm not jealous, I don't like Kenny because he's mean sometimes. But Guthrie likes him so I put up with him.

"Hey Heidi!" Guthrie yells from the porch. "Can we borrow your BB gun? Kenny and I want to go shoot for a while."

"You can borrow it if you help me finish raking the leaves _and_ let me come with you!" I yell over to them. I love shooting my BB gun.

They talk to each other and I can't hear what they're saying, but they must've decided yes because they're walking over.

"Ok, we'll help you," Guthrie says.

Guthrie rakes and Kenny and I pick up the piles and put them in the wheelbarrow. When it gets full Guthrie wheels it over to the burn pile. Some day soon one of my brothers will burn them when it's a burn day. With the three of us working together it doesn't take us long to finish.

"I'll go get my gun." I run into the house and upstairs to my room. I pull my gun out from under the bed. When I come back outside Guthrie and Kenny are waiting with Guthrie's gun and some empty soda cans.

"Let's go. I'll run out to the barn and get the BBs." It doesn't take me long to get them and I run fast and catch up with them on their way to the river.

"Let me see your gun," Kenny says and he takes it out of my hand.

That makes me a little mad but I don't say anything. I don't want to ruin Guthrie's time with his friend.

"You don't even have a scope," Kenny says. "What is this a girl's BB gun?" He laughs.

"You don't have to use it!" I yell, but then I look at Guthrie and calm down. "I don't need a scope. I just use the sites and I can hit anything."

"We'll see," Kenny says.

When we reach the big oak tree by the river all of us start setting the cans up. We set one in the crook of the tree, some on top of some rocks across the river, and the rest on the ground at different spots. We brought ten cans with us. Guthrie and I are pretty good shots 'cause we practice a lot, and because Brian taught us how to shoot good. We can even shoot while we're laying on the ground.

"Ok, let's play," I say. "We'll each take turns shooting at the targets. Whoever shoots the cans down using the least amount of BBs is the winner, and the loser has to set them back up." Guthrie and I play this game a lot. Guthrie wins most of the time, but usually only by one or two targets.

"I'll start," Guthrie says. "Let's start with the one on the big rock."

He shoots and hits it and it falls over. Kenny shoots next using my gun and he tries to shoot the next can, but misses.

Ha! I think inside my head. I shoot at the same can and I hit it and knock it over. I smile as I hand Kenny my gun.

We take turns playing, knocking and setting the cans up in different spots. After a while I get a little bored so I give Kenny my gun to use, and I sit out and watch for a while.

I think Guthrie can shoot better than Kenny. I think I can too.

I watch Kenny try to shoot the can down from the tree but he keeps missing. I smile. I bet I could shoot it down with one shot!

"Hey look, there's a bird on that branch." Kenny says. He takes aim and before I can yell at him to stop he shoots the bird.

"Noooo!" I scream. The bird falls to the ground and hobbles around in a little circle. I start crying.

"Heidi cover your eyes!" Guthrie yells.

But I can't. We just stand there watching and it's so sad. I look at Kenny and start yelling at him. "Why'd you do that? We never shoot animals with BB guns! BBs hardly ever kill little animals, but they hurt them!" I look at the poor little bird on the ground. It can't fly. It looks so scared. "Now you have to kill it!" I cry.

"What's the big deal? I do this all the time at home. It's just a bird. Geeez, quit crying." He's laughing at me now. "A couple more shots and it'll be dead."

"Heidi, go home!" Guthrie says. He tries to stand in front of me so I can't see the bird. He puts his hands on my shoulders and looks in my eyes. "Look at me," he says. "Go home!"

I nod my head and I look at the bird one more time before I run home. It looks so sad. I'm so sad I can't stop crying.

* * *

When I get near the house I don't see anyone around so I sit on the porch steps and cry. Why did he have to do that. Guthrie doesn't like to kill things either. I know my brothers hunt, and Guthrie's almost old enough to learn how to use a shotgun, but I don't like to see animals get hurt or killed. When I'm old enough to learn how to use a shotgun I'm only going to use it to kill mountain lions or coyotes. I'm never gonna shoot a deer with it like my brothers.

One time when we were little, like six and eight, Guthrie and I thought it would be fun to shoot a bird. We'd never killed anything before and we wanted to do it so we could bring it home and show everyone. Our brothers are always bringing home the things they kill, and we thought they'd be proud of us. We didn't know BBs don't usually kill small animals. So we shot at the bird and hit it, and it fell to the ground and looked just like the bird did today. It hobbled on the ground in a circle. We cried and didn't know what to do so we went and got Crane. I asked him if we could fix it but he said no. It was just laying on the ground then and only moving a little bit so he said he had to kill it. I don't shoot at animals anymore and Guthrie doesn't either.

After a while I can hear Guthrie and Kenny walking over. I wipe the tears off my cheeks and stand up. When they get closer I walk up to Kenny and yell, "give me back my gun!"

He throws it on the ground in front of me. "Here."

I pick it up and start yelling at him. "You're mean! Why'd you have to shoot that bird? How would you like it if I shot you?" I raise my gun and point it at him.

"Hey!" He yells.

"Heidi don't!" Guthrie yells.

"Well, how would you like it?"

"Stop!" I hear someone shout behind me, and they grab the gun out of my hand.

"Hey!" I yell turning around. Brian is standing behind me holding my gun.

"What'd you think you're doing?" He yells.

I look up at him. "I wasn't gonna shoot him," I say quietly. And I really wasn't. I just wanted to scare him.

"You don't EVER point a gun at someone! Maybe you're not old enough to have this."

"What! I've had it since I was six!" I yell.

"Well I'm gonna keep it for a while."

"That's not fair! He killed a bird!" I look over at Kenny. "I hate you and you're never using my gun again!" I run over to the barn.

* * *

Once I'm in the barn I climb up to the loft and cry. I'm mad I got my gun taken away, but I'm sad about the bird. I just keep seeing it in my head, hobbling on the ground. I try to get that picture out of my head so I look out the loft window. Ford and Evan are below me. They're sitting on a bale of hay talking. I guess they're taking a break from their chores so I decide to listen.

"Adam will never let us go there. It's a school night," Ford says.

"I know, that's why we have to think of a way to go. That Halloween party is gonna be the best party of the year!" Evan says.

"I know," Ford says. "Cleo's going to it."

Cleo's the girl Ford likes. I think she likes him too 'cause they hang out together sometimes after school.

"All the cute girls are going to be there. It's at Frank Drake's house and he said Sally Miller's gonna be there and she's a senior! We have to go!"

Evan likes lots of girls. He's always going out on dates with all kinds of girls.

"Every Halloween we go to Racetrack Road. Why don't we just say we're going there and go to the party instead," Ford says.

"I wish we could, but Guthrie's old enough to go to Racetrack this year, so we're probably gonna have to walk around with him."

Racetrack Road is in Sonora. It's the best place to go trick-or-treating. It's a super long road that has the best candy and it even has a haunted house that you can go inside of. It's also the place where lots of kids go egging and smashing pumpkins late at night. I want to go there so bad, but Adam won't let me go until I'm twelve. Since Guthrie's twelve now he gets to go this year.

"Aw man! I don't want to have to walk around with Guthrie. He'll just want to go trick-or-treating all night. He's not old enough to go egging," Ford says.

"I know. We'll have to think of something." They get back to doing their chores.

I've always wanted to go to Racetrack Road on Halloween. I want to go in the haunted house so bad! But instead, I get to go trick-or-treating in Angeles Camp. I love going trick-or-treating, but since we can't go door-to-door in Murphys 'cause all the houses are far apart, especially if you live on a ranch like me, we have to drive somewhere. So everyone drives to Angeles Camp or Sonora.

Maybe I can think of a plan for Ford and Evan to go to that party that also gets me to go to Racetrack Road with Guthrie. I don't get to think long about that because I hear someone climbing up the ladder. It's Ford.

"What are you doing up here?" He asks. He takes a bale of hay and rolls it to the window and throws it down to Evan.

"Nothing," I say smiling at him as I climb down the ladder.

I run out of the barn and over to the house. I've got some thinking to do.

* * *

I run up the porch steps, open the front door and stop when I see Brian in the living room talking to Adam. He gives my BB gun to Adam and walks into the kitchen. I turn around fast and start to go back outside.

"Hold it!" Adam yells.

Darn it! I turn around. "What?"

"Did you point this at Guthrie's friend and pretend you were going to shoot him?"

I stare at him.

"Don't just stand there staring at me, did you?"

"Yes," I say quietly.

"What were you thinking? You NEVER point a gun at someone! Even if it's just a BB gun!"

"I wasn't going to shoot him," I say quietly.

"Well I hope not! What if it accidentally went off?"

"It wasn't cocked." By the look on Adam's face I probably shouldn't have said that.

"Sit!" He points to the couch. I walk over as slowly as I can and sit down. He sits down on the coffee table in front of me and puts my gun down. "You think this is a joke?" He asks staring at me. He looks mad.

I shake my head no.

"I'm going to have to take this away for a while." He holds up my gun and puts it down again. "I'm disappointed in you. You know better than that. I don't want you playing with Guthrie's gun either."

"I'm sorry. I really wasn't going to shoot him. I just got so mad because he shot a bird, and he hurt it and then they had to kill it." I feel sad when I think about the bird and my eyes start to water.

"Why don't you go to your room until dinner. I'll find a safe place to keep your BB gun."

I get up and walk to the stairs. Hannah's coming down them and I look up at her.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"Nothing," I say as I walk by her.

I can hear Adam talk to her on my way up to my room so I walk very slowly and listen. They're talking quietly but I can still hear them.

"That's weird," Adam says.

"What?"

"I just took Heidi's gun away and sent her to her room and she didn't yell or argue with me."

"That is weird," Hannah says. "Maybe she's growing up."

"That would be nice, but I think something else is going on. If I didn't know any better I'd say she's coming up with a plan for something."

"Oh, I hope she's not. Those plans never work."

When I get to my room I sit on my bed to think. This plan is going to work. I just have to think of it first.


	2. Chapter 2

At dinnertime everyone is talking about Halloween. There's a big Halloween party in town that Daniel's band is playing at. It's huge. It's a costume party, but it's only for adults. Brian and Crane go every year. They say there's lots of pretty girls there and Daniel agrees.

Hannah looks down at Adam. "Do _you_ go to the Halloween party where all the pretty girls are?" Everyone laughs.

"No, _I_ don't," he says smiling at her.

"We should go. It sounds like fun."

"I think I could go if you want to go." They smile at each other.

"Hey, if you guys all go to the dance, and Guthrie goes to Racetrack Road, who's gonna take me trick-or-treating?" I ask.

"What'd you mean _if_ I go?" Guthrie says. "I'm definitely going."

"Who's gonna take me?" I ask again.

Everyone looks at me and nobody says anything.

"I can go with Guthrie," I say shrugging my shoulders.

Everyone laughs and Adam says, "no."

"Pleeeeeese?" I say smiling down at him with my biggest smile.

"No," he says again. I stop smiling.

"What's Racetrack Road?" Hannah asks.

"It's the best place to go trick-or-treating," Guthrie says. "But Adam won't let you go until you're twelve."

"It's got a scary haunted house and it's where all the junior high and high school kids go to hang out on Halloween," Adam tells her. "It's also where some kids get in trouble." He looks around the table at my brothers when he says that.

"You went there too when you were in high school, big brother," Brian says laughing.

"That's why I'm not thrilled with any of you going now," he says. "I know what goes on there."

"Yeah," Daniel says. "You don't want to drive on that road late at night. You might get egg on your car!"

Everyone laughs.

"Just make sure you boys wear good masks, so nobody knows who you are," Brian says to Evan and Ford.

"We know," Evan says. "You don't have to remind us. Besides we never do anything wrong." He smiles when he says that part and we all laugh.

"Just make sure you stay out of trouble," Adam says.

"So who's gonna take me?" I ask again.

"I don't know yet," Adam says. "We'll figure something out."

What? They're all talking about their plans and nobody's going to take me trick-or-treating? I look at Guthrie and he shrugs his shoulders at me. I don't feel like eating anymore. I feel like crying. Now they're talking about what costumes they're gonna wear.

"Heidi?" Hannah says to me quietly.

I look at her. "What?"

"What are you going to be for Halloween?"

"A cowgirl." I say sadly. "I'm always a cowgirl," I tell her. And now I don't have my gun! I always take my gun, it's part of the costume! I'm gonna have to find a way to get it back. Now I'm really sad. "Can I be excused?" I ask Hannah.

"We haven't even had dessert yet. Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm ok, I'm just not hungry anymore." I take my dishes to the sink and go out the back door.

* * *

It's cold outside and very dark. I sit on the porch steps and think. How am I gonna get my gun back? And how am I gonna get to Racetrack Road. I'm not outside long when I hear the door open. I look behind me and see Guthrie.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks. "It's so cold." He sits next to me.

I don't feel like talking so he does. "I'm sorry about Kenny and the bird today."

I shrug my shoulders. "That made me feel really sad."

"I know, I felt sad too. I hate seeing animals hurt. I wish he hadn't done that."

I start to cry.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because Adam took my gun away. I won't have it for my costume and I need it! I can't be a cowgirl and have no gun!" I look at him. "And you're not going trick-or-treating with me!"

"I'm sorry Heidi. I wish you could go with me."

"Maybe I can. What if we came up with a plan so I could?" I'm still crying.

"It would have to be a good one and it would have to work. But I have to tell you Heidi, I'm going with Kenny. Ford and Evan are driving me so I can meet up with him and then they're going to hang out with their friends on Racetrack. I don't mind you hanging out with us."

"Well, I don't like Kenny, but I wouldn't mind being around him if it meant I got to go." I wipe my eyes.

"Don't cry Heidi, we'll think of a good plan."

The door opens and Crane says, "get inside you guys, it's cold out here."

We get up and Guthrie whispers, "we'll talk about it later." I nod my head.

"Why are you crying?" Crane asks me.

I look up at him and shrug my shoulders.

He picks me up. "Come on you can tell me."

"Adam took my gun away and nobody wants to go trick-or-treating with me!" I cry.

"I'll go with you," he says.

"You're going to the party," I remind him.

"What if I went out with you first, and then I went to the party?"

"Who's gonna watch me when you go to he party? No one will be home and I'm not allowed to stay home by myself."

He looks like he's thinking. "We'll figure it out. Don't worry." He carries me inside and puts me down. "I'm gonna help Hannah with the dishes. Wanna help too?"

"No." I wipe the tears off my cheeks.

He laughs. "I didn't think so. Why don't you go find Guthrie and play."

I walk into the living room and Guthrie is already in there wrestling with Ford. Usually I would help Guthrie but I don't feel like it tonight so I sit on the couch and watch.

"Come on Heidi, help me!" Guthrie says.

I shake my head no.

"She'd be no help," Ford says. "She's too _little_!" He laughs.

I hate it when people call me little. Just because I'm ten doesn't mean I'm little. I get off the couch and jump on Ford's back.

"I knew that would get you off the couch!" He says.

Guthrie and I try to pin Ford to the ground but we're having a hard time. We finally get him on the ground and are ready to pin him when I feel someone picking me up and I can see someone pick Guthrie up out of the corner of my eye. It's Evan and Daniel!

"Hey!" I yell at Evan. "Put me down!" I'm laughing now. "This means war!" I yell.

When Guthrie and I break free we have three brothers to get now. I jump on Evan's back and try to pull him down but I'm not strong enough. I look over at Guthrie and Daniel has him pinned. It doesn't take long for Evan to pin me.

I love wrestling with my brothers and I feel happy now. After a while I get tired, so I sit out and watch while Daniel and Evan gang up on Ford and Guthrie. I laugh 'cause it doesn't take them long to pin Guthrie, but it takes a while for them to pin Ford.

Pretty soon we're all sitting on the floor laughing.

"Who won?" Brian asks, coming in and sitting on the couch.

"We did!" Guthrie and I shout.

"No, we did!" Ford, Daniel and Evan say.

"I'll bet we could pin you Brian!" I say.

He smiles. "I'd like to see you try."

"Get his feet!" I yell to Guthrie. I take one foot and Guthrie takes the other, and we try our hardest to pull him off the couch, but we're not strong enough. "Help us!" I yell to Ford.

"Alright guys," Adam says when he walks into the living room. "Bedtime for you two."

We groan. "We almost had him!" I say.

Evan laughs. "Yeah right. You two couldn't pin him even with Ford's help!"

"Hey!" Ford says, and he tries to pin Evan.

I laugh and run to help him.

"Heidi! Bedtime!" Adam says again and he pulls me off Evan.

"Oh man! We almost had him!" I say laughing. Everyone else laughs too.

"You can get him tomorrow," Adam says. He carries me to the stairs and puts me down. "Get up there and get ready for bed."

* * *

When I'm ready for bed I sit on my bed and look around my room. It's small. It fits my bed and my dresser. I have a little pink lamp on my dresser that my mom and dad bought for me when I was a baby. I sleep with it on every night so I don't get scared. I start thinking about my gun now. How I'm going to get my gun back?

Adam walks in and sits on my bed.

"Can I have my gun back for Halloween?" I ask.

"No."

"It's part of my costume. I take it with me every year."

"No, you're not getting it back for Halloween. I don't know when you're getting it back, but I _do_ know it's going to be a while. You shouldn't have pointed it at Guthrie's friend."

"I'm sorry." I think for a minute and then I ask. "What if I take the BBs out? Then could I take it?"

Adam sighs. "No. You're not getting it back. Please stop asking."

I'm quiet for a minute. "Can I take Guthrie's gun with me?"

"No! You can't take anybody's gun with you."

"What about a toy gun?"

"No guns period! You gotta learn that you can't point a gun at someone. I don't want to see you playing with BB guns, toy guns or any other kind of gun. Do you understand me?"

I nod my head.

"Good. It's time to go to sleep now." He kisses my forehead.

"Where do birds go when they die?"

He groans. "I think you're trying to get out of going to sleep," he says smiling at me.

"But the bird was hurt badly. Where'd it go when it died?"

"We've talked about this before."

"If the bird went to heaven, then Kenny's going to hell, because he killed it."

Adam looks surprised, but he doesn't say anything.

"Are our mom and dad looking down at us from heaven?"

"I like to think so. What do you think?"

"Yes. I think they're sad about the bird dying."

"Are you sad about the bird dying?" He asks.

I nod my head. "He was hurt bad."

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I know that makes you feel sad." I nod my head again.

"Do you feel sad when animals die?" I ask.

"Ok, enough questions, I know you're stalling now. Goodnight! It's late and you've got school tomorrow!" He kisses me again and gets up and leaves.

After he leaves I lay here thinking. I wonder what heaven looks like. I wonder if my mom and dad are watching me right now. Are they sad about the bird? Are they mad that I pointed my gun at Kenny? I don't like thinking about that. What if they are mad. What would I say to them? What would they say to me? Then I start thinking about Halloween. Who's going to take me trick-or-treating? How am I going to get to Racetrack Road? I have to think of a good plan. I drift off to sleep thinking about that.


	3. Chapter 3

Mornings are crazy at our house on school days. All five of us that go to school have to share a bathroom and that's hard to do. It seems like we're always running late.

Daniel, Evan and Ford go to high school in Angels Camp, and Guthrie and I go to school here in Murphys. Their bus comes before ours so they always leave a little before us, and then it's a little quieter inside. Brian, Adam and Crane are usually outside working on the ranch somewhere before we get up. So Hannah gets our lunches ready for us and hands them to us as we run out the door.

"Have a good day!" She says as we run outside.

On our way to the bus stop I tell Guthrie we've got to come up with a plan for Halloween.

"Maybe I can sneak out and hide in the truck when Evan and Ford take you to Sonora," I say.

"Maybe. But that will only work if they take the truck and not the jeep. We can't really make a plan yet because we don't know how you're going trick-or-treating. It kind of depends on who takes you."

The bus comes and we get on. Guthrie always sits in the back with his friends and I sit near the middle. I look out the window and try to think of a plan.

* * *

When I get off the bus I walk to my classroom and I still haven't thought of a plan.

I don't like school very much. I'm in fourth grade and I like recess and PE and that's about it. While I'm sitting at my desk waiting for my teacher to tell us what to do, the door opens and the principal walks in with a girl.

My teacher, Mrs. Wilson, says, "class, we have a new student. This is Denise. Let's all say hello to her." We do and the principal leaves, and Mrs. Wilson asks the class, "who would like to be a buddy to Denise?" All the girls raise their hands except for me. Normally I would too but I don't feel like being a buddy today.

"Heidi, why don't you be Denise's buddy, " Mrs. Wilson says.

What! I didn't even raise my hand!

"Jeremy go sit at the empty desk in the back of the room so Denise can sit next to Heidi," my teacher says.

I smile at Denise as she walks over to the empty desk next to me. Being someone's buddy means you have to show them were everything is. The bathrooms, the cafeteria, the playground, and in class you have to show them what we're doing in all the different subjects. You're also supposed to play with them at recess. This is going to be a long day.

* * *

At lunchtime Denise and I sit next to each other in the cafeteria. We've been getting to know each other all day and it's actually been fun. I like Denise and I think we could become friends.

At lunch recess I take her out to the playground and lots of girls come up to us and say hi. Susie and her friend Amy walk up to us. I'm not good friends with them, mostly because Susie doesn't like me anymore, and since Susie and Amy are best friends, Amy doesn't like me.

"Hi, I'm Susie," she says to Denise. "And this is my best friend Amy." Denise says hi to them and then Susie asks Denise questions about where she moved from and what does she like to do. When the bell finally rings we all head over to our classroom.

"Denise, I'm having a slumber party in a few days," Susie says. "I'm inviting all the girls from our class and I'm passing out the invitations tomorrow."

"Ok," Denise says.

"I have a party every year at Halloween time. It's gonna be really scary this year. My cousin is letting me borrow her Ouija board. She's in high school."

"Ok," Denise says again. Susie and Amy walk ahead of us and they start whispering to each other. Denise asks me, "what's a Ouija board?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. I've never heard of one before."

While we walk back to class I think about Susie's party. She does have one every year. The last time I went I was in second grade because we were friends then, but I didn't go last year. She invited me, but I think that was because her mom made her. I wonder if she'll invite me this year.

* * *

The rest of the school day went by quickly. It was fun being Denise's buddy.

After the bell rings I walk with Denise on the way to my bus.

"Do you take the bus home?" I ask.

"No, my mom picks me up." Darn! None of my friends ride my bus.

Do you take the bus?" She asks.

"Yes." I head for my bus and she starts to walk over to the pick-up place for cars. "Bye. I'll see you tomorrow," I say.

"Bye, Heidi." We walk away and then I hear her call my name so I turn around. "Heidi, do you want to come over to my house tomorrow after school?"

I smile. "Yes."

She walks back to me and says, "write your phone number down on this," she hands me a small piece of paper. "I'll call you tonight."

I hand it to her when I'm done, and then we both run off.

* * *

I get on the bus and sit by the window and think.

It's been a while since I've gone over to a friend's house. I think the last time I did it was to Susie's house last year. I rode her bus home with her to her house. We were having fun playing in her room with her Barbies when I saw a real pretty doll sitting way up high on the bookcase in her room. I'd never seen a doll like that before.

She had a fancy dress on, and fancy shoes, and her hair was curly all over. Her face was white and really shiny, not like a plastic face like Barbies have. Her lips and cheeks were colored pink like she was wearing make-up. I wanted to hold her so I asked Susie if I could.

She told me it was really special to her because her grandmother gave it to her and it was breakable. That's why her mom put it up really high, so she couldn't play with it. I asked her what good is a doll if you can't play with it? She said she knew her mom wouldn't let us play with it, but maybe she would let me hold it for a minute, so she left to go ask her mom.

I stared at the doll and I knew I just had to touch her shiny face. So I tried to reach it. I stood on my tip toes but I still couldn't reach the doll. I looked around to see if there was something I could stand on but there wasn't. So I put my foot on the second shelf of the bookcase and pulled myself up. I could touch the doll's foot so I pulled on it, but my foot slipped a little and I couldn't hold onto the doll. It fell on the floor. Not on the little rug by Susie's bed, but on the wood part of the floor. The doll's face broke into three pieces. I felt really bad.

When Susie and her mom came in, Susie cried and ran to the doll. She sat on the floor crying and then I started to cry. I told her I was sorry and I told her mom that too. But her mom was mad so she called my house to have someone come pick me up.

When Crane got there Susie's mom told him what happened and he apologized a lot. She was kind of yelling at him a little. But when we got home he hugged me a lot because I was crying and he told me sometimes these things happen.

I tried to apologize to Susie at school the next day, but she wouldn't talk to me. So we just kind of stopped being friends.

The bus stops and Guthrie and I get off. We don't talk too much because I'm too busy thinking about going to Denise's house.

Hannah's out on the porch when we get home.

"There's cookies on the table," she says. She always has cookies for us after school. Guthrie goes inside but I stay and talk to Hannah.

"Hannah, there's a new girl in my class. She's really nice and she asked me if I could go to her house tomorrow after school. Can I?" I look up at her.

She looks at me and smiles. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Thank you!" I give her a big hug.

"Ok. Run inside and eat your cookies so you can get started on your chores."

I run inside. I feel so happy!

* * *

After I do my chores I wait inside the house for Denise to call. Hannah is making me do my homework while I wait. It seems like time is going by so slowly. By the time dinner's ready she still hasn't called. I walk slowly to the table and Hannah gives me a little hug.

"She'll call," she says.

Everyone's eating except for me. I'm not hungry. I guess Denise didn't want me to come over. I make a little hill with my peas using my fork and I jump when the telephone rings.

"I'll get it!" I yell. I run to the phone and answer it and it's Denise.

"Did you ask your mom if you could come over?" She asks.

I pause for a while. Now doesn't seem like the right time to tell her I don't have a mom or a dad.

"Heidi? Are you there?" She asks.

"Yes. My mom said yes!"

"Ok, my mom wants to talk to your mom for a minute so they can talk about the details."

"Um, my mom's busy right now," I tell her quietly while I look over at Hannah. "You can just tell me the details and I'll tell her."

"Ok, my mom wants to know if you can stay for dinner and then have your mom or dad pick you up at seven."

"I'm sure she'll say yes. I'll tell her."

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow at school," Denise says.

"Bye." I hang up the phone and go back to the kitchen.

"Who was that?" Adam asks.

"My friend Denise. She wants me to go to her house after school tomorrow." I look at him hoping he won't say no. "Hannah already said I could."

My brothers are laughing a little.

"What's so funny?" Hannah asks. They tell her about Susie's house and the doll. "Well I'm sure something like that won't happen this time," she says smiling at me. "Didn't her mom want to talk to me?"

"She was busy, so she told me to tell you I can stay for dinner and you can pick me up at seven."

"Where does she live?" Adam asks.

"I don't know. But I can call you from her house tomorrow."

"Ok, I'll write you a note so you can go home with her after school," he says.

I'm really happy. "Thank you!" I'm also really hungry so I start eating my dinner.

Everyone goes back to talking about the stuff they always talk about at dinner. Lost cows, broken fences, no money to fix the pump, but all I can think about is going to my friend's house.

* * *

After dinner Daniel goes into town because his band needs to practice for the Halloween party. Crane and Brian go with him so it's a little quieter in the house tonight. There's a fire going in our wood burning stove in the living room and it feels nice. It's our first fire of the season. I'm stretched out on the couch next to it and Guthrie's laying on the floor in front of it. I don't know where everyone else is so I ask Guthrie about our Halloween plan.

"Have you thought of a plan yet?" I ask him.

"No. Have you?"

"No."

"We probably shouldn't talk about it here."

"What do you want to do then?" I ask.

"We could wrestle."

I jump off the couch fast and pin Guthrie 'cause he's already laying on he floor.

"No fair! That's cheating!" He laughs and pushes me off of him. We wrestle with each other for a while until we hear Adam yell.

"Hey! Not in front of the stove!"

We stop and look at him.

"If you want to wrestle do it over there." He points to an area away from the stove and then he goes back into the kitchen.

We decide not to wrestle and sit in front of the stove instead. We're both quiet for a while and then I think of something I want to ask him.

"Guthrie, do you ever think about our mom and dad?"

"Not really. I don't remember what they look like or anything about them. I was only two when they died."

"I was a baby and I think about them sometimes." I think for a minute. "Do you think they're watching over us?"

"Like right now?" He asks.

I laugh. "Yeah, what if they were sitting on the couch over there watching us."

Guthrie laughs too. "That would be funny. We should say hi."

We laugh and say hi and wave to the couch.

"What would you say to them if you could talk to them?" I ask.

"I don't know. Maybe I'd ask them what heaven was like." He pauses for a minute. "But if they're sitting on the couch then that would mean they're ghosts. And ghosts aren't in heaven."

"What? Do you think our mom and dad are ghosts and live in our house?" I never thought about them being ghosts before. I'm scared of ghosts.

"Yeah, and at night they sit in your room and watch you sleep!" He laughs really hard about that.

"No! Don't say that!" I yell.

"I'm just kidding! Geez!" He smiles at me. "No, really they're hiding under your bed at night!" He laughs again.

"Shut up! You're scaring me." I take a pillow off the couch and throw it at him.

"Hey!" He throws it back and hits me hard with it so I jump on him.

He starts laughing and we wrestle, but I'm not laughing.

"Hey! I said no wrestling in front of the stove!" Adam yells. We stop and stare at him. "You guys need to go to bed now."

"What! That's not fair!" Guthrie yells. "It's still early."

"Too bad. It's not that early and it's almost your bedtime anyways. Guthrie you sleep in the boys room, Crane can sleep down here tonight." We stare at him and he says, "go!"

"Thanks a lot!" Guthrie yells at me.

We walk upstairs to get ready for bed, but there is absolutely no way I'm going to go into my room.


	4. Chapter 4

I wait outside the bathroom door while Guthrie brushes his teeth. I look at the doorway to my bedroom. Are the ghosts of my parents waiting for me in there? Or are they standing next to me right now? That scares me even more.

When Guthrie comes out of the bathroom I tell him I'm scared.

"I don't care! I have to go to bed early because of you." He says walking by me.

"Guthrie I'm sorry and I'm really scared. Will you come in my room with me to get my pajamas? Please?"

He stops and looks at me. "Ok. But I was just joking around. I don't think our parents are ghosts, and I don't think they are in your room." We walk into my room.

I quickly open my dresser drawer and pull out my pajamas. Then I run out of my bedroom. "Thanks," I say to Guthrie. "Will you wait for me outside the bathroom door?"

"Ok, but Heidi, there aren't any ghosts in our house."

We look downstairs because Hannah and Adam are walking into the living room. They sit on he couch and drink their coffee.

"You don't know there aren't any ghosts in this house," I whisper to Guthrie.

"Just get in there and get dressed!" He whispers back.

I walk into the bathroom and close the door. Now I'm scared in here. I get dressed quickly and brush my teeth. When I open the door Guthrie is still waiting there.

"Now what do I do?" I ask him.

"What'd you mean? You go to bed."

"I can't," I whisper.

"You have too!" He whispers back.

"What's going on up there?" Adam yells up to us.

"Nothing," Guthrie says and he walks to his room.

I walk slowly to my room but all I can think about are ghosts. Ghosts all around me and ghosts hiding under my bed. I can't go inside my room so I stand at the doorway.

"Go to bed Heidi!" Adam yells.

I just stand there and look at him.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"I'm scared."

Adam sighs. "Scared of what?"

"Ghosts."

"There are no ghosts, now go to bed."

"Guthrie said they're hiding under my bed."

"What! God damn it!" He gets up and starts coming upstairs. "Guthrie!"

"Adam, calm down," Hannah says. But I don't think he listened 'cause he's still mad.

Guthrie comes out of his room. "What?"

Adam's standing by me now. "Did you tell Heidi there are ghosts under her bed?"

Guthrie stares at him.

"Answer me!"

"I was joking."

Adam groans. "Why would you do that?" He pauses for a minute. "Never mind. Just go to bed." He looks down at me. "You know there's no such thing as ghosts right? We've talked about this before."

"I think there are."

"I know you think that, but there aren't any ghosts and there's none hiding under your bed. I'll show you." He walks into my room and lifts up the bedspread so we can see under my bed. "See, no ghosts."

"Ghosts are invisible," I remind him.

He sighs. "Come on, come sit on your bed."

"No, I'm scared to go in there."

"I'll be in here with you." He walks to me and picks me up and carries me to my bed.

"No. Please don't make me. I'm really, really scared!" I cry.

"Ok, ok." He carries me back to the hallway.

Hannah calls up from downstairs, "why don't you bring her down here and she can sleep on the couch right now."

Adam carries me downstairs and walks over to the couch Guthrie and I were joking about earlier. The one we said our parents were sitting on. He starts to put me down on it.

"No! Not this couch!" I yell.

He puts me down on it anyway and I jump off.

"What's wrong with the couch?" He asks.

"Ghosts are sitting on it."

Adam shakes his head and Hannah says, "come here Heidi. Lay down next to me."

I walk over to her and lay down next to her and put my head on her lap. It's warm by the stove. Adam turns the lights off except for a lamp and sits on the other side of Hannah.

I hear someone walk in from the kitchen and Evan says, "what's going on in here?"

"Ghosts," Adam says.

I can hear Evan walk back into the kitchen laughing a little bit.

It's quiet in the living room and Hannah is smoothing my hair back with her hand. I look at the other couch and wonder if my parents are sitting on it. It makes me feel scared.

"I'm afraid of the ghosts on the couch."

"Don't look at them. Turn your head the other way," Adam says.

"Then how will I see them if they come over here?"

"They're invisible. Remember?" He says sighing.

After a while I close my eyes and go to sleep.

* * *

I wake up when I hear noises. I sit up a little and realize I'm in my bed! The noise must have been coming from underneath my bed! The ghosts! I scream as loud as I can and get out of bed. I hear noises coming from downstairs and I run out of my room fast because I don't want the ghosts under my bed to grab my legs. Daniel, Brian and Crane are running up the stairs. They must've been making the noises I heard.

"What's wrong?" Crane asks. He kneels down in front of me. Daniel and Brian run up behind him.

I can't talk because I can't stop crying.

"Are you scared?" I nod my head and he hugs me.

I can hear Adam in the hallway saying, "I got her."

Daniel and Brian move out of the way to let him pass by and Crane lets go of me. Adam picks me up and I hold on to him as tight as I can.

"What's she scared of?" Crane asks.

"Ghosts," he says.

Brian laughs a little. "Ghosts again? I thought they were invisible. How can you be scared of something you can't see?"

"Not now Brian." Adam says sighing. "You guys go to bed, I'll take care of her."

He carries me to his room and sets me on his bed. "You sleep here and I'll sleep on the floor." He grabs a pillow and a blanket and lays down on the floor. Hannah is awake and she's sitting up a little bit. She smiles at me.

"But what if the ghosts are under _your_ bed now?" I ask.

Adam groans and says, "then they'll get me first. Go to sleep!"

"What?" I start crying again and he gets up.

"Sorry. Scoot over a little." I do and he sits up on the bed resting his back against the headboard. He puts an arm around me and holds me close.

Hannah holds my hand and says, "do you want us to sing you a song?"

I nod my head. "But if I fall asleep please don't put me back in my bed."

"I won't," Adam says. They start singing softly. It's a song I've heard before that my brothers sing to me sometimes. It makes me feel better so I close my eyes and go to sleep.

* * *

In the morning Hannah wakes me up to get ready for school. I'm still in their bed and I yawn and stretch. I'm tired. It was a long and scary night. I get up and walk to the doorway. I guess everyone is awake because it's loud downstairs in the kitchen. It smells like Hannah cooked bacon. Evan walks by the doorway on his way to the stairs.

"How are the ghosts today?" He asks smiling at me.

"Good," I say smiling back. I'm not afraid of ghosts in the daytime.

"Are they sleeping under your bed right now?" He asks laughing.

"Are you making fun of me?" I ask. I'm not mad at him, I'm just curious.

"No," he laughs. "I was just wondering if they're walking in the hallway right now or if they're asleep."

"It sounds like you're making fun of me," I smile up at him. "I don't care if you are because I'm not scared of them right now. But guess what Evan?"

"What?"

"I know a secret."

"About ghosts?" He asks laughing.

"No. About you and Ford."

He laughs. "What secret?"

"I know what you want to do on Halloween," I say smiling at him.

He laughs again. "That's not a secret. Everyone knows what we're gonna do on Racetrack Road."

I keep smiling at him. "I know what you really want to do instead of going to Racetrack."

He stops laughing and looks at me.

"Evan let's go! We're gonna be late," Daniel yells from downstairs.

I keep smiling at Evan.

"We'll talk about this later," he says looking at me seriously. Then he runs downstairs and out the front door looking back at me before he goes out.

I go into my room and get dressed for school.

* * *

On our way out the door Hannah hands me and Guthrie our lunches.

"Have fun at your friend's house today," she says to me. "Make sure you use good manners." She smiles.

"Don't worry, I won't break anything," I tell her.

"I know you won't," she says giving me a kiss on my head.

I run to catch up with Guthrie.

"Don't forget to call with directions!" Hannah yells.

"I won't!" I yell back. I'm so excited to go to Denise's house today!

"Guthrie? Are you and Kenny gonna go egging on Racetrack Road?"

"No, Evan and Ford said we're not old enough to do that yet. We're just gonna go trick-or-treating and go in the haunted house. We're gonna try to go to every house on the road. They say some houses give out regular size candy bars instead of the little ones."

"I wish I could go too. I've always gone trick-or-treating with you. Every year of my life!"

"I never thought about that before," Guthrie says. "We _have_ always gone together. We need to come up with a good plan to get you to come with us. We have to go trick-or-treating together."

We're quiet while we wait for the bus. When it comes Guthrie gets on and walks to the back and I go sit in the middle of the bus by a window. I feel a little sad, but then I remember I'm going to Denise's house after school and I'm happy again.

* * *

The school day is going by so slow, but at least I'm having fun playing with Denise at recess. At lunchtime Susie passes out her invitations to everyone for her slumber party. She gives one to me but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to go.

At the last recess Denise and I run to the drinking fountain. We're not there long when I see that mean bully Gary walking towards us. Denise is getting a drink and he's walking faster towards us.

"Come on Denise, let's go." She finishes her drink and Gary is closer.

"I'll race you to the swings!" I yell and we both run as fast as we can to the swings.

I look back and see Gary smiling at me. It looks like a creepy smile to me, but I know he won't come over here because there's a yard duty lady by us. I hope he doesn't bug me again, but I mostly hope he doesn't bug Denise. If he does I'll punch him. I don't care if I get suspended, I'm gonna protect my friend.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally school is over! Denise and I run out of our classroom and over to the car pick-up place.

"Come on," she says. "That's my mom's car over there." She points to a shiny black car. I run over and Denise opens the door for me and I get in the back seat. It looks brand new inside. It's not dirty and it has a funny smell. Denise gets in and sits next to me.

"Hi, Heidi," Denise's mom says. "I'm Judy."

"Hi. Thanks for letting me come over today. I like your car."

"Thanks," she says.

"It's new," Denise says. "We just bought it before we moved here."

I smile and look out the window to see which way we go. We drive down Main Street and turn on a little side street. I know the area. This is the area in town where the houses are closer together. Susie lives in this area. There's not many houses here but they're old ones. I think they're called historical. They all have grass in the front yard and white picket fences around them. Some are two-story like my house and some are one story. We park on the street in front of a one story house. We have to park on the street because there are no driveways at these houses.

I get out of the car and follow Denise and her mom to the door. They have a small porch with three steps leading up to it and there's a bench on the porch in front of the window.

When I walk inside I notice how clean the house looks. Not that my house is dirty, because Hannah makes sure it's clean, but this house looks perfect! There's nothing laying around on the floor or the furniture anywhere! No jackets or boots or papers or guitars, nothing!

"Would you girls like some cookies?"

"Yes please," I say, and so does Denise.

We walk into the kitchen and it's perfect too. There's no dishes in the sink and no pots on the stove! There's a small table with four chairs around it. Denise sits down in one and I sit next to her. Her mom brings over some cookies and milk.

"I hope you like Oreos," her mom says.

"I do," I say smiling. "Sometimes Hannah..., I mean my mom, buys Oreos. But mostly she bakes cookies for us. She's a really good cook. She used to work in a restaurant."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Come on," Denise says after we're finished eating. "I want to show you my room."

I follow her down a long hallway and into a bedroom. Woah! This girl likes pink! Her walls are pink, her bedspread's pink, her curtains are pink, everything looks pink!

"Let me guess, your favorite color is pink!" I say laughing.

"Yes!" She's laughing too. "What's your favorite color?"

"Purple." I look around her room. It's huge! Way bigger than mine. She has dolls everywhere! All her furniture is white and it looks like it all matches. She even has a desk in her room!

"Is your room purple?" She asks.

"No." I look around some more. "You have a Barbie house? Wow!"

"Do you want to play Barbies?"

"Maybe in a little while." I'm not done looking around. She has dolls and stuffed animals laying on her bed and on the other side of the room is a doll house.

"You have a dollhouse?" I walk over to it and kneel on the floor in front of it. Everything is so small and perfect looking. It even has dollhouse people in it.

"Do you want to play with it?" She asks.

"Ok."

She sits down next to me and we pick which dolls we want to be. We play for a while and it's fun. I haven't played with dolls in a long time. I have a few of them at home but no one will play with me anymore, but I don't care because I love playing outside. Especially with Guthrie. But this is fun too, playing dollhouse with Denise.

I look around her room some more and then I see them! Three pretty dolls sitting on top of her dresser. The same kind of dolls Susie has. Pretty dolls with fancy dresses, fancy shoes, curly hair, and shiny faces with pink paint on the lips and cheeks.

"Those are pretty dolls," I say pointing to them.

"Do you want to play with them?"

What! "Won't they break?"

"Not if we're careful." She walks over to them and takes them off her dresser and brings them over to me. She lays them in front of me and says, "you can pick them up. They won't break."

I pick up the doll in the pink dress and touch her shiny face. It's so smooth. I pick it up and hold it in front of me. It's so pretty. But then I think about what I did to Susie's fancy doll so I say, "we should probably put them back. I don't want to break them."

"Ok," Denise says and she picks them up and carries them all together and lays them on her dresser. "What do you want to do now?" She asks.

I look around and I look on top of her desk. "You have markers?"

"Do you want to draw?"

"Yes!"

She gets her markers and some paper and says, "lets go draw in the kitchen."

I follow her to the kitchen and we sit at the table. Denise's mom is in there and she's cooking dinner.

"Do you like spaghetti, Heidi?" She asks.

"Yes! It's my favorite." It's one of my favorites, but nobody makes it better than Brian. Well, maybe Hannah does, but Brian puts hot sauce in his and that makes it taste really good.

It smells good in the kitchen. Denise and I draw with her markers. She draws a house and I draw a horse. I always draw horses, but I especially like to draw my horse, Lucy.

"I like your horse," Denise says.

"Thanks. It's my horse, Lucy."

"You have a horse?" She asks. I look at her and her eyes are big.

I stop drawing and say, "yeah, we have lots of horses."

"I've never ridden a horse before."

"You should come to my house and ride Lucy. I could teach you how."

"That would fun!"

Denise's mom walks over to us and looks at our drawings. "Those are nice pictures, but it's time to put that stuff away and clean up for dinner."

We put the stuff away and wash our hands in the bathroom. It's a pretty bathroom and perfect looking like the rest of the house. The towels are hanging up neatly and they look super clean. While we're in there I hear a door open and someone yells, "I'm home!" It must be Denise's dad.

"My dad's home!" Denise says and she runs down the hall. I follow her and stop at the living room and watch her hug her dad. He's tall, not as tall as Adam, but still, he's tall. He's dressed fancy. He's not wearing jeans or boots and he doesn't look dirty like my brothers do when they come in from working on the ranch. He's also carrying a briefcase. I wonder where he's been.

"Daddy, this is my friend Heidi."

He says hello to me and I say hi. He has a really big smile and looks nice, so I smile back at him.

"Come sit down for dinner," Denise's mom calls out to us from the kitchen.

We all walk into the kitchen and Denise's dad walks over to her mom and kisses her. That's just like what Hannah and Adam do. We sit down and pass the food around. There's spaghetti, bread and salad. I don't like salad but I put some on my plate to be polite. Hannah taught me that. Then I remember I forgot to call home.

"Can I call home? I forgot to call and give them directions to your house."

"Why don't you let me do it," Denise's mom says. "That way I can talk to your mom."

"Um, I think I should. My brother will probably answer because my mom's probably cooking dinner. I can tell him where you live because we have friends that live close to here."

"Ok, you can use the phone in the living room."

I get up and go to the living room and my stomach hurts. I feel bad lying about my family, but I've never really had to tell people about my parents dying. Usually everyone already knows. I find the phone and call home. I hope Guthrie answers.

"Hello?" It's Daniel.

"It's me Heidi. Can you pick me up at my friends house? She lives a few houses down from Susie's house."

"I'll tell Adam."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Can you do it? Or Evan, or Ford? Please?"

"Why? What'd you do?"

"Nothing. Please?"

"Ok, tell me the house number."

I go back in the kitchen and ask for the number and then I tell Daniel. After I hang up I go back to the kitchen again and sit back down at the table and listen to Denise's dad talk about work.

"Where do you work?" I ask.

"I work at the new bank that just opened up in Angels Camp."

That's why he's dressed so nice!

"Where does your dad work?" He asks.

"He's a rancher. We live on a ranch." I tell them all about our ranch and they seem interested in it. Then they want to know about my family.

"Well, I have a mom and a dad and some brothers."

"How many?" Denise asks.

"Um, I have three. They're all older than me."

"That sounds like a big family," Denise's mom says. I nod my head. Then she says, "who'd like dessert?"

We all say we want some so she brings over these really fancy glass bowls with chocolate pudding, whipped cream and a cherry in them. It looks really fancy and it tastes really good.

When we're done Denise's dad says he'll do the dishes and Denise asks me if I want to watch TV.

We go into the living room and she turns the TV on. It's a color TV! Ours is black and white and we don't watch it too much because we don't get good reception, but Denise's TV looks really good. There's no wavy lines in the picture.

"What do you want to watch?" She asks.

I have no idea! What do I say? "Um, whatever you want to watch is fine with me." I decide.

I sit on the couch and she stands at the TV turning the dial. She keeps turning it. "It looks like just the news is on now." So she turns it off.

"That's ok. It's almost seven and my brother should be here soon."

"Your brother? Why not your mom or your dad?"

"I guess they're busy." We sit on the couch quietly for a while.

"I'm glad you came over," she says.

"Me too! I had a lot of fun!"

We hear a knock on the front door and Denise gets up and opens it. Please don't be Hannah or Adam! I look out and see Daniel. He's holding his cowboy hat in his hand. Denise's parents come to the door and invite Daniel inside. They introduce themselves and talk to him a little bit. I tell them thank you and goodbye and we walk out the door to the jeep.

When we get to it Daniel asks, "ok, why'd you want me to pick you up instead of Adam or Hannah?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"I thought you did something wrong and they were gonna yell at me."

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"Did you have fun?" He asks.

"Yes!" And the whole way home I tell him everything. About the house, Denise's room, all her toys and her parents.

When we pull up and get out of the jeep Daniel says, "ok, ok! I get it! You had fun!" He laughs.

When we get to the porch steps I say, "wait!"

He turns around. "What?"

"Did anyone ask you why you had to pick me up?"

"No, I told them I had to drop something off in town for the dance party, and I'd pick you up on my way back. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." He picks me up and swings me up to him. "Whatever it is!" He says laughing.

I hug him. "Thanks!" I say as he swings me down and we walk up to the front door.


	6. Chapter 6

When I walk inside it feels nice and warm. Brian is standing close to the door and he's holding his shotgun.

"Hey Crane!" He yells. "Let's go! Daniel's back with the jeep!"

Crane runs into the living room and says, "let me go get my jacket," as he runs upstairs to his room.

"What's going on?" Daniel asks.

"We've got some coyotes up by the north pasture. We gotta go scare 'em away."

"I'll go with you," Daniel says.

"Meet me out by the jeep." Brian says, walking out the door. I walk out with him. Seeing Brian with his shotgun gives me an idea.

"Hey Brian," I say.

"What twerp?" He looks at me and then says, "no you can't go with us."

"I don't wanna go. I was just wondering something."

"What?"

"Can I have my BB gun back for Halloween? I take it every year. It's part of my costume."

"What did Adam say when you asked him?"

"He said, um..."

"Asked Adam what?" I hear Adam's voice and I turn around and Adam's standing in the doorway.

"Nothing!" I say and I run past him and into the house.

* * *

No one's in the living room so I run into the kitchen. Guthrie and Hannah are doing the dishes, and Ford and Evan are at the table doing their homework.

"I'm home!" I yell running up to Hannah. I give her a big hug and then I sit down at the table.

"Did you have a good time?" She asks.

"Yes!" I'm excited to tell her all about it. "You wouldn't believe what their house looks like inside! It was so clean!" Evan and Ford start laughing.

"What'd you mean by _clean_?" She asks looking at me kind of funny.

"I mean there wasn't anybody's stuff laying all around. And they didn't have any dirty dishes in the sink! And Denise has a pink room! It's all pink, the walls and everything!" I take a deep breath and start again, "and she has a dollhouse, and a Barbie house and all kinds of dolls. They even have a color tv that works!"

Everyone's laughing now.

"What?" I ask.

"Slow down," Hannah says. "Let me finish here and then we'll go sit on the couch and you can tell me everything. I want to hear everything." She smiles at me.

Adam walks into the kitchen and Hannah asks him, "aren't you going with them?"

"No, Daniel's going. I gotta call Dave and ask him if he can help us with the pump tomorrow."

He's holding the phone book in his hand and when he sees me sitting at the table he says, "hey you," he hits my head lightly with the phone book. "I don't want you asking any of your brothers if you can have your BB gun back. You got that?" I look up at him and nod my head. "I mean it. Or you might not be going trick-or-treating."

I start laughing. "Ha! That's funny!" Adam's not laughing though, and I can see Guthrie behind him shaking his head at me.

Adam keeps looking at me really seriously and he says, "I'm not joking."

What? My brain is screaming, "no fair!" And "you can't do that!" But I don't say a word. I just look at him.

When he leaves to go make his phone call I ask, "can he do that? Can he really take trick-or-treating away? 'Cause _I_ don't think he can do that."

Evan and Ford laugh. "He's the dad. He can do whatever he wants."

"I heard that!" Adam yells from the living room. They all laugh, but I don't. I'm worried now. I want to go trick-or-treating and I don't want him to take that away.

"Come on Heidi, come tell me about your friend's house," Hannah says and I follow her into the living room.

* * *

Hannah and I sit on the couch and I tell her all about my day at Denise's house. Guthrie's sitting on the floor in front of the stove listening too.

"You played with dolls today?" He asks laughing.

"Yes. It was fun. You used to play with my dolls."

"A long time ago. Maybe when I was five or something." We all laugh.

Adam comes and sits down next to Hannah and he listens too.

"Can she come over to our house sometime? She's never ridden a horse before, and she really wants to."

"Sure," Hannah says and then she asks me a question.

"How come Denise's mom didn't want to talk to me? I know I'm not a mom so things might be different now a days, but I remember when I was a little girl my mom and my friend's mom would talk to each other and plan out all the details."

I look at Hannah and I don't know what to say, so I just stare at her.

"What?" She asks.

"I know that look Heidi, what's wrong?" Adam asks.

"She did want to talk to you," I tell her. "But I said you were busy."

"Why?" She asks.

"Because you're not my mom." I look at Hannah and she looks really sad and I feel really bad.

Adam sounds a little mad when he says, "Heidi, I know Hannah's not your mom, but Denise's mom wanted to talk to an adult. You should've let her talk to Hannah, or let her talk to me. I've talked to your friend's moms before."

"No, that's not what I mean," I say. I feel really sad. "I know Hannah's not my mom, and I want Hannah to talk to her, but I didn't know how to tell Denise's mom that I don't have a mom."

"Oh," Hannah says.

"She kept wanting to talk to my mom and I didn't know how to say my mom's dead." I start crying and Hannah hugs me. "I lied to Denise and her family. They asked me questions about my mom and dad so I just pretended you were my mom, and Adam was my dad."

"I'm sorry Heidi," Adam says.

"I needed Daniel to pick me up so they wouldn't see you, because if they did then they would know I was lying." I look at Adam and say, "I never had to tell anyone I didn't have a mom or a dad. Everybody already knows I don't. I didn't know what to do."

"I never had to tell anyone either," Guthrie says.

Adam sighs. "This never gets any easier."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asks.

"When the boys were little I had to explain to a few of their friend's parents about our parents. It's hard to do. It must have been hard for you to think about, Heidi." I nod my head. "It's just been a while since I've had to explain it. We don't get to many new folks that move to Murphys."

"Heidi, do you want me to talk to Denise's mom?" Hannah asks.

"But then she'll know I lied and she'll be mad at me."

"I think she'll understand about this," she says smiling at me.

"But when I lie to you, you guys get mad at me," I say.

"That's true," Guthrie says. "You get really mad."

Adam and Hannah laugh. "This is different," Adam says.

"You just get Denise's phone number for me and I'll call her mom," Hannah says.

"Ok," I say hugging her.

The front door opens and Brian, Crane and Daniel walk in.

"Did you kill the coyotes?" Guthrie asks excitedly.

"We scared them away," Brian says while hanging up his hat.

They walk over and sit on the other couch. The ghost couch. Everyone's talking but I'm not. I'm thinking about ghosts now. I wonder if my mom and dad are here. If they are, wouldn't they be _good_ ghosts? Maybe they're here because there are bad ghosts in our house and they're trying to protect us.

"I think it's time for bed for you two," Hannah says looking at Guthrie and then me.

"Aw, do we have to?" Guthrie asks.

"Yes," Adam says.

"I'm going to get something to drink first," I say, because I don't want to go upstairs. So I walk into the kitchen.

* * *

Evan and Ford are still in here doing homework. I don't think they're getting much done because they're talking and laughing a lot.

I go to the cupboard to get a glass.

"Heidi, come here," Evan says.

I walk over to him. "What?"

"What did you mean this morning when you said you know what Ford and I really want to do on Halloween?" He asks quietly.

"I just meant I know what you want to do _instead_ of going to Racetrack Road."

"What'd you mean?" Ford asks. "What do we want to do instead?"

I smile and say excitedly, "you want to go to a party!"

"Sh!" Evan says and puts his hand over my mouth.

"How do you know that?" Ford asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "I just know," I say after Evan moves his hand away.

"You can't tell on us," Ford says.

"Yeah, we don't even know if we're gonna go or not." Then Evan looks right into my eyes and says, "don't tell anyone."

"I'm not gonna tell on you." I put my hands on my hips. "I would never do that!"

"Sh!"

I whisper, "you guys never tell on me."

"Ok," Evan says and he smiles at me. "Just make sure you don't."

"Can I watch you guys do your homework?" I ask. "I'm too scared to go to bed. Maybe I could help you?"

They laugh. "I don't think you can help, but I don't care if you watch."

I sit down next to Evan and look at him. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Evan laughs while he looks at me. "Not ghosts again!" Then he looks like he sees something behind me and he looks scared and says, "watch out Heidi! There's a ghost behind you!"

I scream and run to the other side of him and grab his arm. They're laughing really hard now.

"You should've seen your face!" Evan laughs and I get mad.

"You're mean!" I say, and I push him but that just makes them laugh more.

Adam comes in and says, "what's going on in here? Why are you screaming?"

"They're trying to scare me!" I yell. "Evan said there was a ghost behind me!"

"Not ghosts again! Quit trying to scare her! I want her to sleep in her own bed tonight!"

"Don't yell at us," Evan says smiling. "She's the one that brought them up." And they laugh again so I push Evan again.

"Come on," Adam says to me. He puts his hands on my shoulders and moves me towards the living room. "Go get ready for bed."

"I didn't get my drink yet."

"You can get one upstairs," he says, leading me to the living room.

I turn around and look up at him and my eyes start to water. "Please don't make me go upstairs. I'm scared and I don't want to go into my room."

He sighs and picks me up and carries me to the stairs. When he puts me down he says, "go get ready for bed. I'll be up in a little while."

* * *

I walk upstairs slowly and decide to go talk to Guthrie instead of getting ready for bed. I walk to his bedroom and knock on the door.

"Guthrie, are you dressed?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah," he says when he opens the door. "I was just gonna go brush my teeth."

I walk in the room and sit on one of the beds. "Guthrie, do you still believe in ghosts?"

"Yeah, but I try not to think about them. Especially at night." He sits on the other bunk bed and we look at each other. "When you were talking about them last night I didn't want to tell you this, but I think there are ghosts living in our house too."

"What if our mom and dad are good ghosts? What if they're here to protect us from the bad ghosts that live in our house? Do you think they could be good ghosts?"

"Yeah." He's quiet for a minute. "So maybe when we hear a sound at night, and we think it's a ghost, maybe the sound we really hear is our parents ghosts' scaring a bad one away."

"How many bad ghosts do you think live in our house? Do you think anyone ever died in our house?"

"I don't know."

"What if they were murdered! What if some guy came in off the street and killed the family that used to live here before us!"

"I don't think that happened."

"But what if it did? What if he buried the bodies under the floor, or outside so no one could find them, and their ghosts are haunting our house now?"

"Hey, maybe some day we could dig around our house and see if we can find any dead bodies!" Guthrie says.

"Yeah! Maybe we could do that tomorrow after school!" We're quiet for a minute and then I say, "Guthrie, what if someone comes into our house tonight and tries to murder all of us?"

"I think Brian would shoot him with his shotgun."

"But what if Brian was asleep and didn't hear him because he snores too loud? Then the guy would kill us all in our sleep. What if he's outside right now waiting for all of us to go to bed?"

"Heidi, I think you better stop now. You're starting to scare me."

"But don't you think that could really happen? It's Halloween time. Scary things happen when it's Halloween."

"Heidi!" Adam's in the hallway yelling my name.

Guthrie and I get up and walk out of the room.

"What are you guys doing? You're supposed to be ready for bed!"

"I'm going to brush my teeth," Guthrie says walking by him.

"I had to tell Guthrie something. It was really important." I go into my room and shut the door so I can put my pajamas on. When I'm dressed I open my door and wait for Guthrie to come out of the bathroom. Adam's waiting out in the hallway.

"Now remember, there aren't any ghosts. You got that?" He asks.

I look at him and say, "oh, I'm not afraid of the ghosts right now."

Guthrie comes out of the bathroom and on my way in I tell Adam, "I'm afraid of the scary man outside, that's waiting for us to go to sleep so he can come in and murder us all." I close the bathroom door and pick up my toothbrush, put some toothpaste on it and brush my teeth. Outside I can hear Adam saying a whole bunch of stuff. I don't know who he's talking to, but he doesn't sound happy.

When I open the door Guthrie and Adam are talking in the hallway.

"I didn't tell her that!" Guthrie says.

"Then who did?" Adam asks.

"She did! She thinks stuff up like that all the time!"

Adam looks at me.

"What?" I ask.

Adam looks at both of us now and says, "look. There are no ghosts, and there aren't any axe murders outside waiting for us to go to sleep."

"He's got an axe?" I yell. "I just thought he would slit our throats with a knife! An axe is way worse!"

"Yeah," Guthrie says. "Now I'm thinking about a guy with an axe and it's scaring me."

"One big swing and your head is chopped in half!" I say.

I can hear everybody laughing downstairs. Adam looks tired 'cause he's just standing there staring at us and rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Can I sleep with Guthrie tonight?" I ask.

"No! You two are not sleeping together tonight, that's for sure. Who knows what other things you might think of when you're together." He thinks for a minute and then says, "Guthrie you're sleeping downstairs with Brian tonight."

"Who am I sleeping with?" I ask. "I don't want to sleep by myself."

Adam sighs. "We'll start you off in your own bed and see what happens after that."

I go get in bed and Adam picks up a book and sits on my bed. He stretches his legs out on my bed and leans his back against my headboard. I sit up too but he tells me to lay down. He reads the story to me but I'm not listening. I'm thinking about ghosts and axe murderers.

When he's done reading the story he tells me to close my eyes.

"But I'm not tired."

"Do it anyway," he says.

I close them, and after a while I open them and look up at Adam.

"How come your eyes are closed?" I ask. "You're supposed to stay awake in case something bad is going to happen."

He opens his eyes. "Nothing bad is going to happen. Now close your eyes and go to sleep."

I close my eyes again. "Do you think there are good ghosts, or are they all bad."

Adam groans. "Stop talking. No more talking."

"Where do you think the guy outside got his axe from? Is he gonna use ours?"

"If you say one more thing I'm leaving and you're gonna be in here all by yourself! Now shut up and go to sleep!"

I want to tell him he's not supposed to say shut up, but I don't want him to leave. So I close my eyes and try to go to sleep, but then I remember something I need to tell him.

"Adam, I forgot to tell you something today. That mean bully Gary is bothering me again. I think he's gonna bother my new friend Denise. So I just want to warn you that if he does bother her, I'm gonna beat him up. Ok?"

I'm not sure if he heard me because he doesn't say anything at first. But then he does.

"Then let me warn you, if you do that, you're _definitely_ not going trick-or-treating."

I look up at him and say, "I don't think you can take that away."

Adam opens his eyes and looks down at me so we're both staring in each others eyes.

"Oh yes I can take that away, and I will if I have to. Do you understand me?"

I nod my head yes and he closes his eyes again.

I wait a few seconds and then I shake my head no, just a little bit, and whisper, "I still don't think you can."

"I heard that! Go to sleep!"

So I close my eyes and try to go to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning at school I find Denise out on the playground. I want to tell her about my parents but I just don't know how to. I hate lying to her.

"Heidi are you going to Susie's slumber party?" She asks.

"No I don't think so. Why?"

"My mom really wants me to go. She says it will give me a chance to make new friends. I'm scared to go by myself. Will you go? Then at least I'd know one person there."

I think for a minute. I don't really want to go. I know Susie still doesn't like me, but she did invite me. "Ok, I'll go. I have to ask first."

"Thank you!" She gives me a hug and I'm glad I said I would go because she looks really happy.

"Denise, can I have your phone number? Hannah, I mean my mom, wants to call your mom about something."

She gives me her phone number and when the bell rings we walk to class.

* * *

At the next recess Denise and I play tag with some other kids on the field. I get tired after a while and sit down on the grass to rest. When I look around the field for Denise I don't see her. I look over at the drinking fountain and see her there, but she's not alone. Gary's there!

I start running to the fountain just as Denise starts walking back to the field. As we get closer to each other I can see she's crying a little bit. I look over at the water fountain and see Gary leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. He has that creepy smile on his face again.

"What happened?" I ask Denise when I reach her.

"That boy is mean! He said I couldn't get a drink there. I just ignored him and tried to get a drink, but then he stood in front of the fountain so I couldn't. Then he laughed at me. He's mean and scary!"

"I know I hate him!" I tell her. "You go back over to the field and I'll go talk to him."

I stomp over to Gary glaring at him the whole way.

He smiles at me. "I see you have a new friend, McFadden."

"You leave her alone!" I yell.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I'll beat you up again! I'm not afraid of you!" I yell.

We both look around to see if the coast is clear, but there's a yard duty over by the field.

"Name the time and place!" Gary yells.

"Tomorrow, after school, on the upper field!"

"Ok!"

"No, wait," I stop yelling and glaring at him so I can think for a minute.

"What!" He yells, still glaring.

"If we fight tomorrow Adam won't let me go trick-or-treating." I think some more while I'm looking at him.

Gary looks like he's thinking about that too. He's not glaring at me anymore either, and the creepy smile is off his face. "Yeah, I don't wanna get in trouble and miss trick-or-treating either." He's also not yelling anymore.

We're both quiet for a minute while we think.

"Ok, how about the day after Halloween?" I ask.

"Yeah, I think I can do that," he says while nodding his head.

We look at each other for a few seconds and then we both start glaring at each other again.

"The day after Halloween then! After school, upper field!" I yell.

"I'll be there!" He yells back.

We both leave. Gary goes back to class and I go back to the field and find Denise. She's still crying a little bit.

"Don't cry," I tell her. "I took care of it."

"How?"

"Never mind how. Just tell me if he bugs you again, ok?"

She nods her head and we walk back to class because the bell rings.

* * *

When I get home from school I give Hannah Denise's phone number and she says she'll call her in a little while. I also ask her if I can go to Susie's slumber party. I show her the invitation and she says she'll ask Adam about it. Guthrie and I eat our cookies and then go out to the barn to do our chores. When we're finished we each get a shovel from the barn and walk over to the house.

"Where should we dig first?" I ask.

"I don't know," Guthrie says. "Let's think. If you were gonna bury a body where would you put it?"

We look around. "I know!" I yell. "By the old oak tree!"

We walk over to it and start digging. It's kind of hard to dig because the ground is hard and there's lots of tree roots in the way.

Guthrie stops digging and says, "I don't think there are any bodies here. There's too many roots."

"Well, let's try the back of the house. If I were a murderer that's probably where I'd bury them," I say.

We walk around back and find a place out in the open with no trees around it. "This would be perfect! It's a big enough space so you could bury more than one person!" Guthrie says. "You could bury a whole family here!"

We start digging, but we stop when we hear the back door open. We look over at the porch and Ford walks out onto it. He's eating an apple. "What are you guys doing?"

"Looking for dead bodies!" I say.

"What?" I think he's laughing a little bit.

"We're looking for dead bodies," I say louder. "You know, the bodies of the people that used to live in our house before us."

"Wanna help us?" Guthrie asks.

Ford laughs. "No!"

He goes back inside and we go back to digging. We stop digging when we hear the back door open again, and now Daniel, Evan and Ford are on the porch and they're laughing.

"What are you guys doing?" Evan asks.

I put my hand on my hip and yell, "we're looking for dead bodies!"

"Did you find any yet?" Daniel asks. They're still laughing at us.

"No," Guthrie says. "But if you guys help us I bet we could find them faster."

"I don't think you'll find any there," Evan says. "I bet they're buried out by the barn. The ground is softer there." They all think that's really funny.

I put my shovel down and put both hands on my hips. "You guys are making fun of us! They wouldn't be buried by the barn, because it would be too far away for the murderer to carry the bodies!"

They laugh again and yell, "have fun!" As they go inside.

We keep digging. "How far down do you think we have to dig?" I ask Guthrie.

"I don't know." He says. Then he stops digging. "Hey! Look at this!" He yells.

"What?" I look down at where he's digging and see something white. We get down on our hands and knees and Guthrie uses his fingers to try to uncover it.

"It's a bone!" I say.

He keeps digging and finally gets it out. It's a bone that's almost as long as my arm from my elbow to my wrist. It has a crack in it, and it's skinny.

"It could be someone's arm bone!" I say. "Maybe there was a little girl that lived in our house and this is her arm bone!"

"Maybe. But we have to keep digging to be sure. If it is an arm bone, then the rest of her bones should be here too."

We keep digging until I get tired. "This is too hard," I say. "Do you think Crane or Brian would help us?"

We lay our shovels down and walk over to the porch steps and sit down. We look at the bone and I wonder whose it is.

"Hey, there's Brian," Guthrie says pointing to the barn. "Let's go show him the bone and ask him if he'll help us!"

We run over to Brian.

"Brian! Brian!" I yell. "Look what we found!"

We stop running when we get to him, and Guthrie holds out the bone for him to see.

"It's a little girl's arm bone!" I say excitedly. "We dug it up."

Brian takes it from Guthrie and looks at it. "Looks like a deer bone to me. And from the looks of it I'd say it was a fawn's leg bone."

I put my hands on my hips. "No it's not! Why would a deer bone be _buried_ in the ground? Mountain lions don't bury their bones when they're done eating!"

Brian laughs a little. "Ok, so you think it's the bone of a little girl. So what?"

"So will you help us dig for the rest of her body?" Guthrie asks.

Brian laughs. "No! But Crane might. He's over there." Brian points over to the pasture and we can see Adam and Crane riding their horses this way to the barn.

"Ok, but you'll be sorry you didn't help us when we dig up the rest of her bones," Guthrie says.

Brian laughs, "ok you two." And he hits us each on the head with his hat, as he walks over to the house.

"How come no one wants to help us?" I ask Guthrie.

"I don't know. But here comes Crane. Maybe he'll help us."

When Crane gets off his horse we walk over to him and show him the bone.

"It's a deer bone. A fawn's leg bone," he says after looking at it carefully.

"That's what Brian said," I say sadly.

"Why? What'd you hope it was?" He asks.

"A little girl's arm bone," Guthrie says. He sounds sad too.

"What?" Crane laughs. "Why would you think that?"

"Never mind," Guthrie says, and we turn around and walk slowly back to the house. "They never believe us."

"I know," I say. "Or help us!"

"Help you with what?" Adam says coming up from behind us.

"We found a bone when we were digging for dead bodies," I say sadly.

Guthrie shows him the bone. "It's a little girls arm bone, but Crane and Brian say its a deer bone."

"And nobody will help us dig for the rest of her bones so we can prove there's a little girl buried there," I say.

"Dead bodies? You're digging for dead bodies?" He asks. "Where?" I look at him and I can't tell if he's mad, because he sure doesn't seem happy about that.

"Behind the house," Guthrie says slowly.

"Show me."

We walk around to the back of the house. It's getting dark now, and cold. We show him where we were digging and he looks down at the ground.

"I don't want you guys digging for dead bodies. Look at me." We look up at him. "There are no dead bodies buried anywhere on our ranch. You got that?" We nod. "Go put the shovels away and come inside now it's dark."

When he leaves I say, "he doesn't believe us either."

"I know. How does he know there aren't any dead bodies buried on our ranch?" Guthrie says as we slowly walk to the barn to put our shovels away. "I bet if we found another bone he'd let us dig some more."

"How are we gonna do that when he said not to dig anymore?"

"I don't know. We'll think of something," he says.

"Yeah. And then when we find another bone, I bet everyone will want to help us dig for dead bodies!"


	8. Chapter 8

After dinner Hannah asks me and Guthrie to help her with the dishes.

"I talked to Denise's mom while you were out doing your chores," she says.

"Was she mad I lied?"

"No. She was very understanding, and she said she was sorry she didn't know."

"Why was she sorry?" I ask.

"Well, she's sorry that you don't have a mom and dad."

"Why? I don't remember them. I've never had a mom or dad."

"But you should have. That's why she's sorry."

"Oh." I still don't understand. "But then I wouldn't have Adam." I think for a minute. "Or Brian, or you, or Crane. They would've left and gotten married and lived in their own houses."

"They might have," she says smiling at me, while she's drying a plate.

"Or they might have stayed here at home," Guthrie says. "And then we'd have a mom and a dad _and_ three older brothers living here with their wives. It'd be way too crowded!"

We all laugh while we finish washing the dishes.

* * *

When I walk into the living room Crane is sitting on the couch with his guitar.

"Where is everybody?" I ask.

"Daniel had to practice with his band and Brian and Adam went with him. I think Evan and Ford are upstairs. Are you guys done doing the dishes?"

"Yeah. Crane? Do you believe in ghosts?" I ask.

"Yeah, do you?" Guthrie asks as he and Hannah walk into the living room. They sit on the couch opposite us.

He looks at me and says, "you know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think you and Guthrie should go get a game to play. That's what I think."

"But you didn't answer my question."

"I know. Go pick out a game," he says smiling at me.

"Will you play with us?" I ask.

"Sure."

"What about you Hannah?" Guthrie asks.

"I'll play."

Guthrie and I walk over to the bookcase where we keep the games.

"We should play Clue! That's perfect!" I say.

"Pick a different game," Crane says. "We're not gonna play a game about murder tonight."

"Aw, that's no fun!" I say.

"Let's play cards instead. Let's play poker," Guthrie says.

Everyone agrees so we go sit at the kitchen table to play.

My brothers taught me how to play poker when I was eight, but I've been watching them play for my whole life. I'm not very good at it, but I'm getting better. I still need a cheat sheet that tells me what the different hands are and what hand beats what.

I get bored after a while because I lost all my chips, and nobody will let me borrow any of theirs. So I decide to go see what Ford and Evan are doing.

When I walk into the living room I can hear them talking upstairs in their bedroom, so I go upstairs.

* * *

"What are you guys doing?" I ask, walking into their room.

"Nothing," Ford says. "What do you want?"

"Can you guys help me think of a plan?"

"A plan to do what?" Evan asks.

"A plan that lets me go trick-or-treating on Racetrack Road."

They laugh. "Are you kidding?" Ford says. "Do you know how much trouble we'd get in if we helped you, and you got caught?"

"About as much trouble as you'd get in if you went to that party, instead of staying on Racetrack where Guthrie and his friend are gonna be?" I ask smiling.

"I thought you weren't gonna tell on us," Evan says glaring at me.

"I'm not. I just thought maybe you guys could help me with my plan, and I could help you with yours."

"We don't have a plan," Ford says.

"Well I can help you with that. I'm good at making plans," I tell them.

They both laugh. "No you're not!" Evan says. "You always get caught!"

Guthrie walks in and says, "Heidi, it's bedtime. Crane and Hannah told me to tell you." He sits on the bed and asks, "what are you guys doing?"

"We're trying to come up with a plan for Halloween," I tell him.

"No we're not," Ford says. "Heidi is."

"Don't worry Heidi, we'll think of a good plan," Guthrie says.

"Now get out Heidi," Evan says. "Go get ready for bed."

I leave and go to my room and close my door. I've got to think of a plan. After I put my pajamas on I open my door just as Guthrie walks by on his way to the bathroom.

"You need to find out who's taking you trick-or-treating, Heidi. Then we can come up with a plan."

"Ok, I'll go ask Hannah."

* * *

I walk downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Are you all ready for bed?" Hannah asks.

I nod my head. "Who's taking me trick-or-treating?" I ask.

"We don't know yet," Crane says.

"Well, when are you gonna know?"

"Why do you need to know now? It's still a few days away," Hannah asks.

I sigh. "I just do. Nobody wants to take me do they?"

Hannah and Crane smile at me and Hannah says, "that's not true. We just haven't talked about it yet."

"It's 'cause you all want to go to that stupid party! If you let me go to Racetrack Road no one would have to miss the party. Also, I would be safe because I'd be with my brothers."

"No," Crane says. "Maybe we could hire a babysitter."

"What!" I yell.

"I'm just kidding," he says laughing.

"Well, I don't think that's funny."

"Heidi, go to bed now," Hannah says.

"Did you talk to Adam about the slumber party?" I ask her.

"No. Not yet. But I'll ask him tonight," she says smiling.

"Can I stay up and wait to hear what he says?"

"No. You need to go to bed now," she says.

I can tell she means it so I ask, "who's tucking me in tonight?"

They look at each other. "I will," Crane says.

"I can too," Hannah says.

I smile and walk into the living room and see Guthrie laying in his bed.

"Why are you sleeping down here?" I ask as I sit down on his bed.

"Evan and Ford kicked me out."

"Why?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I think they were in a bad mood or something. I think it has something to do with Halloween."

I don't tell him about the party they want to go to. Not yet anyways. We sit quietly and I start thinking about the little girl buried outside.

"Guthrie, what'd you do with the bone we found?" I ask.

"I left it out on the porch. Why?"

"Do you think the rest of her body will miss it?"

"I never thought about that," he says. "Maybe we should put it back."

"Yeah, she might get mad if we don't, and then her ghost will be mad at us."

"How are we gonna put it back, Heidi? Hannah and Crane are in the kitchen and they're probably gonna stay up until everyone else comes home."

"We can sneak out the front door. Maybe Ford and Evan can help us," I say.

"No, they're mad at me. That's why they kicked me out."

"Get your flashlight and let's go do it really fast." I get off the bed and wait while Guthrie gets his flashlight out from under the bed.

We walk really quietly to the front door. I look into the kitchen to see if the coast is clear, and it is. We quietly open the door and walk out.

* * *

"It's freezing out here!" I say.

"Sh! We have to be quiet!"

We walk as quietly as we can around the porch, because Guthrie left the bone by the back door. When we get there Guthrie picks it up and we walk down the porch steps and stop.

"We don't have any shoes on. How are we gonna get way over there in bare feet?" I ask.

"Very carefully."

"But we have to go fast! Crane and Hannah are gonna go up to my room soon."

"Okay, let's just go." He turns on his flashlight and we start running to the spot where we were digging, but we stop quickly because the ground is hurting our feet. There are lots of little rocks and sticks and it hurts. Guthrie shines his flashlight on the ground where our feet are.

We slowly make our way to the digging spot, and when we get there we look down at it.

"Should we just throw it down there?" I ask.

"Maybe we should bury it," he says.

We stand there shivering and then I think of something scary. "Guthrie! We're standing on their graves! They're gonna be mad at us!"

"Sh! You're yelling and you're gonna get us caught!" He throws the bone on the ground where we've been digging, and we turn to go back towards the house. The porch light turns on and the back door opens quickly. Hannah and Crane are standing on the porch, and Crane has a shotgun pointed at us.

I scream and Guthrie cries, "don't shoot! It's just us! Guthrie and Heidi!"

Crane puts the gun down and we walk back to the house.

"Are you guys crazy!" Crane yells. "I could've shot you!"

"It's freezing out here! Get inside," Hannah says. She sounds mad. When Hannah gets mad she doesn't yell like my brothers do. She talks in a very serious voice and she doesn't smile when she talks. Hannah doesn't get mad at us too often and I don't like it when she does. "What are you doing out here?" She asks.

"We had to put the bone back or the little girl would be mad at us!" I cry.

We're inside the kitchen now and Evan and Ford must have heard what was going on because they're in the kitchen too.

"Look at you." Hannah says. "You have no shoes on and your feet are all dirty. You're probably freezing to death." Her voice sounds really serious. It makes me want to cry. "You both know better than to go outside without a jacket or shoes on in this weather." She's mad. "Go sit over by the fire."

We walk into the living room and go sit down in front of the stove. They all follow us and sit down on the couches.

"What happened?" Evan says.

"None of your business!" Guthrie yells at him.

Wow! I guess Guthrie's mad at them for kicking him out. I wonder what he did.

"You two go upstairs!" Crane yells.

I look at him and he's not pointing at me and Guthrie, he's pointing to Evan and Ford. Usually when someone says 'you two' they mean me and Guthrie.

"Ha!" I laugh, but I didn't mean to say it out loud, I just meant to say it in my head.

"What are you laughing at?" Crane asks.

"Nothing," I say quietly. I don't like it when Crane's mad either.

Evan and Ford go upstairs grumbling. I think I hear Evan say very quietly, "ok, dad!" But Crane doesn't hear. Hannah walks towards the kitchen and says, "I'm going to get a tub of water and some soap for those dirty feet."

I look at Crane sitting on the couch and he's just glaring at us. Hannah brings the soap and water out and tells Guthrie to sit on the couch and put his feet in the tub and wash them.

"Wash them real good." She says. She still sounds serious and isn't smiling.

"Do you guys realize how stupid that was! I thought you were a coyote!" Crane yells.

I start crying.

"What if I shot you!"

And then Guthrie starts crying. We're not used to Crane yelling at us.

"I'm sorry," I say while crying. "We just wanted to put the little girl's bone back so she wouldn't be mad at us."

Crane looks at me and I can see he's not really glaring at me anymore. Well, maybe just a little. Guthrie is done washing his feet so Hannah takes the dish tub back into the kitchen to get clean water for me.

"Now the little girl and her family are gonna be mad at us because we stepped on their graves!" I say.

Crane rubs his forehead with his hand. He looks tired like Adam does sometimes when he's mad at us. "There isn't a little girl buried out there!" He yells.

"But how do you know that!" I cry.

"Because it's a deer bone!" He yells. That makes me cry harder. I look at Guthrie and he's just sitting there quietly on the couch. I think he's done crying.

Hannah brings the tub back and a clean towel. I get up and sit on the couch and put my feet in the tub. The water feels warm and I take the soap and start washing. Hannah sits next to me and I think she's not as mad as before because she smiles a tiny bit.

"Look, you guys should've told us what you were doing," she says.

Guthrie looks over at her. "And you would've let us do that?" He asks.

Hannah smiles and says, "probably not."

That makes Crane smile a little. I stop crying.

"I probably would've told you to go to bed and put it back tomorrow," she says.

"But then the little girl would've been mad," I tell her. "She needs her arm back."

Hannah sighs. "Well, she has it now so she should be happy."

"But we didn't bury it, we just threw it on the dirt," Guthrie says.

Hannah puts her arm around Guthrie and says, "it's ok, Guthrie."

I finish washing my feet and I dry them.

"You guys need to get to bed. It's late," Hannah says.

"But I'm too scared," I say.

"I'm kinda scared too," Guthrie says.

"I don't want to go to bed until Adam comes home. When is he coming home?" I ask.

"I don't know," Hannah says.

"What if they don't!" I cry. "What if the ax murderer is waiting outside for them and he chops them up when they get out of the car! What if they're already lying out there dead and the murderer is waiting for us to go to sleep!"

"Heidi, stop!" Crane yells. He walks over to me and holds me up so I can see his face. "Stop it! There's no one outside!"

"How do you know?" I hug him tight. "You can't turn the lights out! Then he'll think we're asleep and he'll come inside!"

"Calm down, let's go sit on the couch," he says quietly. We sit with Hannah and Guthrie.

Evan and Ford come out of their room and Evan asks, "what's going on down there?"

"Just two scared kids, that's all," Hannah tells them.

They come downstairs and sit on the other couch.

"I'm not going to sleep until they're back!" I cry.

"I know," Crane says. "I know. We'll just sit here and wait." He smoothes my hair back with his hand. "Why don't we sing something while we're waiting."

They sing a couple songs and I stare at the door waiting. Finally it opens and Brian, Daniel, and Adam walk in.

"Your back!" I yell. I run over to Adam and hug him. "You're not dead!"

He picks me up. "No I'm not. Why would you think that?"

Hannah walks over and says, "it's been a long night. Someone's been worried about you." She rubs my back. "She wouldn't go to bed until you were home."

"Ok," he says quietly. "I'm here, let's get you to bed," he says while carrying me up to my room.

He lays me down and sits up on the bed next to me. I snuggle up to him and he puts his arm around me.

"I was so worried about you. I thought the ax murderer killed you."

"Sh." He says. "Close your eyes. I'm here."

I'm really tired so I close my eyes. "Do you think the little girl's ghost is mad at us?" I ask while yawning.

"What little girl?" He asks. He sounds tired.

"The one buried outside. Do you think she's mad at me? Is she going to hurt me?"

"Sh. I'll protect you. You just go to sleep."

I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

There's a little girl at the end of a long hallway. She's walking towards me and she's saying something but I can't hear her. She's wearing a white dress that clings to her body so it looks like she's a skeleton. She's barefoot and slowly getting closer to me. Her black hair hangs from her forehead so it covers most of her face. Her skin is so white, and as she gets closer I can see black circles around her red eyes. She keeps moving her mouth like she's talking, but I still can't hear what she's saying. As she gets closer she holds her hand out to me like she wants me to take it. She looks so sad, so I reach my hand out to her. She's finally close enough that I can hear her.

"I want my arm!" She screams it at me and her eyes look angry now! I look at her other arm but it's not there! There's blood dripping from her shoulder where her arm is supposed to be. She's so close now I can feel her breath on me and then she screams and floats right through me!

I scream and open my eyes. I'm all sweaty and I'm really scared and crying. Was that the little girl buried outside? What do I do now? I think she wants her arm back.

Adam rushes in and sits on my bed and holds me. "Sh. It's just a bad dream."

"She wants her arm back! We have to give it back!"

"It's just a dream, she's not real."

"I saw her! She is real! She's in the hallway!"

Adam sighs and says, "it's ok, she's not real and there's nothing out in the hallway."

"Yes she is!" I scream. "We have to bury her arm now! We have to do it now! We have to!"

"Heidi, no. Look at me. Look at me!" I look at him and he tries to wipe the tears off my cheeks but they keep falling. "It's a dream, it's just a dream. There's no little girl."

Hannah's sitting next to us and she says, "it's just a bad dream."

From the doorway I hear Crane say, "Heidi, there's no one out here."

I look at everyone and try to stop crying.

"There's no little girl, it was just a dream," Adam says.

"But I saw her. She was sad at first and then she was mad, and she had blood dripping from her shoulder where her arm was supposed to be. She screamed at me."

"No," Hannah says, "it wasn't real it was just a dream."

I can hear Guthrie out in the hallway asking if I'm ok, and I hear Crane say yes.

"Why doesn't everyone go back to bed," Adam says. "It's a school night and it's really late."

I hear Guthrie say he's scared and Hannah tells him she'll walk downstairs with him.

"I don't want to go to sleep," I tell Adam.

"I know. Just lay down. I'll be right here," he says.

"What if she comes back?"

"I'll be here. Come on, no more talking. Close your eyes and I'll sing to you."

"I don't want to close my eyes. I'll see her."

"Then leave them open and just lay there."

"But what if I..," I start to say, but he just says, "Sh.," and starts singing and eventually I close my eyes.

* * *

When I wake up it's still dark outside. I look at my clock. 5:30. That's early, but I get up. I can hear people downstairs in the kitchen talking so I go down there.

I stop in the living room to listen.

"Why do they think someone's buried out there?" Brian asks.

"Who knows," Crane says.

"I think they just have vivid imaginations," Hannah says.

"I think Heidi's the one with the imagination," Adam says.

"Well, she didn't get that from me," Brian says and him and Crane laugh.

"I don't know who she got that from," Adam says, and then he groans. "I am so tired. I'm gonna need lots of coffee today."

"I think it's funny that they're digging up dead bodies," Brian says. "I mean, who digs up dead people in their yard?" Him and Crane laugh again.

"Yeah," Crane says. "And then they sneak out at night to give her bone back to her!"

"You guys think it's funny 'cause you haven't had to stay awake with her until she falls asleep the last few nights," Adam says. "And as far as the vivid imagination goes, I think her and Guthrie feed off each other."

"They always have," Brian says.

I wonder what that means. How do we feed off each other? I sit down on the couch and listen, but my eyes feel tired so I close them.

* * *

I wake up when I hear my name being called. I open my eyes and I'm still on the couch. I must have fallen asleep while I was listening to them talk. Adam is calling my name.

"Heidi, it's time to get ready for school."

"Where's Hannah?" I ask sitting up.

"In the kitchen making breakfast."

"How come you're here waking me up instead of her? She always wakes me up. Why aren't you outside working?"

He smiles at me. "I'm not always working."

"But usually you are in the morning. How come you're not today?"

"I'm going to take you and Guthrie to school."

I fold my arms and glare at him. "Why?"

He laughs. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just going to talk to your principal about that bully that's bothering you."

"No don't!" I yell.

Now he folds his arms and glares at me but I can tell he's just kidding, 'cause his eyes don't look mad even though he's trying to make them look mad. "Why not?" He asks.

"He's not bothering _me_, he's bothering _Denise_."

"If you're telling me you're going to beat him up, then that's a problem for _you_ and _me_. So I'm going to talk to the principal. I don't want you to get suspended again."

"Ok."

"Hannah told me you want to go to Susie's slumber party tomorrow. Are you sure you want to?"

"I'm going because Denise wants me too."

"I'll call Susie's mom and tell her you're coming then. Go get dressed and come have breakfast."

I get up and go to my room. I don't want Adam to talk to the principal and I really don't want him to find out about the fight we have planned.

* * *

When Adam parks the jeep in the school parking lot, Guthrie and I get out and I start to run to the playground.

"Heidi, wait!" Adam yells.

I turn around and look at him. "What?"

"I want you to go talk to the principal with me."

I stare at him and shake my head no. "I don't want too."

"I know. But you're going to."

We walk into the office and Adam takes his hat off as he walks through the door. I hate being in here. Usually when I'm in here, it's because I'm in trouble.

"Can I go out to the playground? Pleeeeeese?" I ask giving Adam my biggest smile. But he just ignores me. Darn. Usually that works.

I wait with him while he talks to the secretary, and then she goes to get Mr. Brick. He's the principal.

Mr. Brick comes out of his office and says hello to Adam and shakes his hand. He tells us to come into his office and we sit down in the two chairs across from his desk. Adam talks to Mr. Brick first and then I have to tell Mr. Brick what happened with Denise and Gary. I tell him what happened to Denise at the drinking fountain, but I don't tell him about the fight Gary and I have planned. Then he gives me a pass to go back to class because school's already started. I sigh and say bye to Adam and go to class. Now Mr. Brick is gonna want to talk to Denise and Gary!

* * *

During class that morning Mr. Brick comes in and takes Denise out of class. I was worried all morning for her, but when she comes back to class she doesn't look sad or mad.

At recess time we walk out to the playground together. I don't feel like talking and it seems like Denise doesn't either. We walk over to the field and sit on the grass.

"Denise? I'm sorry I had to tell the principal about you and Gary." I look at her. "That's why he pulled you out of class, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's ok. I already told my mom and she called the principal."

"She did?"

"Yeah."

We're both quiet. "Denise are you sad about something?" I ask.

She looks at me and nods her head. I think she might cry.

"Denise, you don't have to worry about Gary. I'll take care of him!"

She laughs. "That's not why I'm sad." I wait for her to tell me why. "I'm sad because I'm sorry you don't have a mom or dad."

"Are you sad because I didn't tell you?"

"No, I'm sad because you don't have them. Do you miss them?"

"No. I didn't even know them. They died when I was a baby. You don't have to be sad, I'm not. It's ok. I have Adam and Hannah and all my other brothers."

"Was that your brother that drove you to school today?" She asks.

"Yeah, that's Adam. He's the oldest. He thinks he's the dad." And then I tell her all about my family and pretty soon we're both happy and laughing.

After the bell rings I see Gary over by the drinking fountain and he's walking towards me. I tell Denise to go back to class and that I would be there in a minute.

"Who told?" Gary yells at me.

"She did! But I'm still gonna beat you up after Halloween!" I yell back.

"I'll be there! And guess what?" I shrug my shoulders and he says, "I'm not afraid of you anymore!"

"We'll see!" I yell as I run back to class.

* * *

On our way home from the bus stop I tell Guthrie about Gary.

"He said he's not scared of me anymore. What do you think he means by that?"

"I don't know. But you don't have to beat him up, I can. I haven't gotten in trouble for fighting in a while. That way you won't get suspended."

"No," I say. "Then he'll think I'm chicken." But then I remembered something that happened a little while ago at the polo game.

"Guthrie I didn't tell you this, but at the polo game Gary and Rick were there, and they stole a dollar from me."

"What! Why didn't you say anything? I would've gotten it back."

"Everyone was happy we won the game, so I didn't want to ruin it. But Guthrie, Gary said he wasn't scared of me there and I didn't know why, but then I found out Rick was standing behind me. Do you think Rick is going to be at the fight on Wednesday?" I ask.

"I hope not! Heidi, I'm gonna be there for you! I'll get my friends to come help."

"Ok, but you're gonna watch. I want to beat up Gary all by myself. And if Rick is there then you and your friends can hold Rick back while I beat up Gary." I'm quiet for a minute. "Guthrie?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're going to be there. I needed you to walk home with me after school since I can't walk home by myself. But, I'm mostly glad you're going to be there in case I need help."

"I'll always be there for you Heidi," he says. And we smile at each other.

* * *

When we get home we say hi to Hannah and eat our cookies. We go out to the barn to do our chores, and when we're finished I tell Guthrie about the bad dream I had.

"She wanted her arm back really bad," I tell him. "It was a really scary dream. I'm afraid she's going to come back tonight."

"Maybe she won't come if we bury her arm. If we give it back, she can't be mad anymore."

"We can't, remember? Adam said we weren't supposed to dig for dead bodies anymore." I remind him.

"We wouldn't be. We'll just be putting her arm back," he says. "He didn't say we couldn't put it back."

"That's true," I say. "That's not digging anything up, it's putting something back."

We walk over to where we were digging yesterday and Guthrie picks the bone up. We stare at the ground and I really want to try to find the rest of her. I think Guthrie does too.

"Come on Heidi, we can't just put it back. We have to dig up the rest of her. We know she's here."

"Ok, you go get the shovels," I tell him.

When Guthrie leaves I get down on my hands and knees and dig a little with my hands. Why can't we find the rest of her? Guthrie runs back with the shovels and we start digging. We dig for a long time and find nothing. Nothing! It's dark now. I hate how it gets dark so early.

"What are you guys doing?" Adam yells over to us. It looks like he was going to go inside but now he's stopped and he's looking at us.

We drop our shovels and don't say anything. We just stare at him as he walks over to us. "You know, when I ask you guys a question and you don't answer, it kind of tells me you're doing something wrong!" He yells.

Guthrie and I look at each other. We never thought about that before.

"So what _are_ you doing? I told you not to dig up any more bodies." He says.

"We're not," Guthrie says. I look at him to hear what he's gonna say next, because that's a lie. "We're just putting her arm back."

"Yeah, that's what we're doing," I say.

"That's not what it looks like. There's a lot more dirt dug up here than there was yesterday." He looks at us.

"We had to dig deeper to make sure it's buried right," I say looking up at him hoping he believes me. "I don't want her to be mad again, and try to get me tonight."

For some reason that seems to frustrate Adam because he throws his arms up in the air and starts yelling.

"That's it! Guthrie throw the bone in the hole!"

I look at Adam and he looks mad. He must've had a bad day or something. Guthrie throws the bone in the hole. Then Adam yells, "put some dirt on it!" Guthrie gets a shovel full of dirt and throws it on top of the bone. "Now put the shovels back in the barn and go inside!"

"But that's not deep enough!" I yell. "She's gonna be mad!"

"I'm sick of this!" Adam yells. "Guthrie, put the shovels back! And you, come here!" He's looking at me.

"Why?" I'm not going over there until I know why.

He walks towards me and he's coming fast and I think about running, but I don't have time to. He grabs my arm under my arm pit and swats my bottom. Then he leads me by my arm towards the house. "Because I said so! That's why."

"Ow! You're hurting me!" I yell. He's really not though.

"No I'm not!" He walks me up the porch steps, through the back door and into the kitchen. Hannah looks over at us as he continues walking me into the living room. "Sit down!" He pushes me a little onto the couch and I start crying. He starts pacing. Hannah comes in from the kitchen and Crane is sitting on the other couch. I don't know where anyone else is.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asks Adam as she's walking over to him. She gets him to stop pacing just as Guthrie comes in from putting the shovels away. He sees me crying and Adam tells him to sit on the couch too.

"What's wrong?" Guthrie whispers to me.

"I don't know. I think he had a bad day." I whisper back, but it's hard to whisper when you're crying so it was a little louder. I look over at Crane and he shakes his head at me.

Adam glares at me. "I did not have a bad day! I'm sick of all your ghost bull***t!" We all look at him and Guthrie and I cry. Hannah puts her hand on his arm.

"Adam," she says quietly. "I think you need to calm down."

He's glaring at me and Guthrie, but Hannah puts her hands on his cheeks and moves his face so he's looking at her. She smiles at him. "Calm down," she says again. It looks like he's starting to calm down because he looks at her and stops glaring.

Hannah keeps looking at him and says over to us, "why don't you two go upstairs and get washed up. You look pretty dirty."

We bolt off the couch and run upstairs to the bathroom. Guthrie stands in front of the sink and I stand in the doorway so I can see and listen to what they're saying. Guthrie turns the water on just a little bit so it's not too loud and we listen.

"She's hugging him," I whisper.

"I think you're just tired," Hannah says to Adam. "You haven't been getting a lot of sleep these past few nights."

"I don't know, maybe you're right. I've felt really tired all day. I guess I am having a bad day."

"I knew it!" I whisper.

Adam continues talking, "I just need to get some sleep. It just gets so frustrating sometimes when I know they're lying to me."

"I know," Hannah says. "It's tough being the dad sometimes."

I whisper to Guthrie, "I think she's smiling."

"Don't call me dad," Adam says and I hear him laugh a little bit.

Then I whisper, "she was smiling 'cause now Adam's smiling and they're hugging."

Guthrie lets me wash my hands and when I'm done we walk to my room. I look down at them and see Hannah and Adam hugging and kissing each other. Yuck!

Then they stop kissing and Adam looks at Hannah and smiles. "What would I do without you?" He says.

And Hannah says what she always says when he asks her that. "I'd prefer you don't find out." Then they kiss each other again.

I forgot Crane was in the living room too, until I hear him say, "alright you guys, get a room!" They all laugh.

"I'm going to get back to peeling potatoes," Hannah says.

"I'm going to go talk to those two," Adam says.

"I hope he's not mad anymore," Guthrie whispers to me.

"Me too!"

* * *

We can hear him coming upstairs. "Let me do the talking," Guthrie whispers. "Sometimes you say things that make him mad."

"Like what!" I yell.

"Sh! Just don't talk," he whispers. We sit on my bed and wait for him.

When Adam is standing in my doorway, we look up at him. He doesn't look mad. "I'm sorry I got so mad at you," he says. "I'm just tired of you guys talking about ghosts and dead people all the time."

"And axe murderers?" I ask. Guthrie nudges me.

"Yes," Adam smiles. "And axe murderers."

"I'm sorry we were digging more today," Guthrie says. "I'm sorry for lying about it too," he adds.

I look at Guthrie and he nods at me. "Me too," I say. "I'm sorry too."

Adam smiles at us. "Can you guys please stop talking about ghosts and things like that? Talking about it is what gets you so scared."

"But those things just pop into my head," I say. Guthrie nudges me again and I look at him. "I mean ok, I'll stop talking about it." And Guthrie nods his head.

"Are you telling her what to say?" Adam asks Guthrie while laughing.

"Well, you have to admit, sometimes she says things that make you mad," Guthrie says and they both laugh.

"Like what!" I yell.

Adam comes in and picks me up and smiles at me. "Let's see, what are some of the things you say that make me mad?" He asks as he walks out of my room and carries me downstairs.

Guthrie's following behind us and he says, "she said you were having a bad day, that made you mad."

They're laughing. "Yep, that's one." Adam says. "How about when I told you to come here and you said why?"

"That made you mad too!" Guthrie says laughing.

"Ok, I get it!" I yell. "You don't have to say anymore things!"

Adam stops at the bottom of the stairs and we look at each other. "Ok," he says, "we'll stop teasing." He looks seriously at me and says, "but Heidi, you've got some mouth on you sometimes, and it does make me mad sometimes. Especially when I asked you to come here earlier and you asked why."

I stare at him. I feel bad I said that so I say, "I'm sorry."

He smiles at me and says, "but I still love you!" And he kisses my forehead and I smile at him.

"Hey Adam, do you wanna wrestle?" Guthrie asks.

It's fun when Adam wrestles so I say, "yeah, you hardly ever wrestle anymore."

Then Guthrie says, "it's probably 'cause he's too old!"

We both laugh.

Adam puts me down, and then he kneels on the floor. His eyes look happy and he says, "sooooo, you think I'm old? We'll see about that! Let's see how fast I can pin both of you!" And we laugh and jump on him trying to pin him to the ground.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for the nice reviews! It really makes me happy to know people are reading my stories and liking them!**

* * *

After dinner Daniel has to leave to go practice with his band. Since it's a Friday night Evan and Ford are going too. I guess Brian and Crane are going also because Brian says, "you guys take the truck, we'll take the jeep."

They're all standing by the door putting their jackets on and getting ready to go when Guthrie asks, "How come I never get to go into town at night?"

"Yeah! How come I don't get to go either?" I ask.

"There's nothing for _little_ kids to do, that's why," Brian says and everyone laughs.

"How come you and Hannah aren't going?" I ask Adam. He's standing behind Hannah and has his arms wrapped around her.

"Because someone's gotta stay here with you two!" He says smiling.

"Come on," I say. "You guys should go have a date night!"

"Yeah," Guthrie says. "You're always hugging and kissing each other. You should go into town and do that."

Everyone laughs at that as they walk out the door.

After the door shuts Hannah says, "I guess it's just us four tonight." And her and Adam go sit on the couch.

"Is that all you guys are gonna do tonight? Sit on the couch?" I ask them.

They smile at me and Adam says, "no, I think we might kiss each other a little bit." And he gives Hannah a big kiss.

"Yuck!" I yell, and Guthrie and I laugh. We sit on the couch across from them and I try to think of something to do.

"What do you want to do?" I ask Guthrie.

"I don't know."

We look at each other and I smile, because I know the perfect game to play. Guthrie is wearing his baseball hat. The hat was a present from Crane. Crane brought it home from college for Guthrie, and he got one for me too, the hats have his college name on them. I look at the hat and then I look in Guthrie's eyes and we both smile as I grab the hat and run off the couch towards the kitchen.

This is one of our favorite games to play. In my house we can play games like this inside. We can wrestle inside, play catch, as long as we don't throw too hard, and we can run around like crazy inside. I can't do any of that stuff at my friends' houses.

So Guthrie and I play keep away with his hat. We run all over the house laughing and yelling and when he steals the hat, I chase him around and steal it back. After a while I get tired. Guthrie stands in front of the couch that Hannah and Adam are sitting on. Hannah's reading a book now and Adam's sleeping. I'm standing behind the couch holding the hat, waiting to see which direction Guthrie's gonna come at me.

Guthrie races around the couch and I run the other way and just as he's about to catch me, I throw the hat on the stairs because I'm too tired to run anymore. I rest on the floor while Guthrie runs up the stairs to get his hat. I'm tired, sweaty and thirsty.

"I'm going to go get something to drink," I tell him.

I walk into the kitchen, get a glass, and walk over to the sink. I look out the window above the sink and it's really dark outside. I wonder if there are any axe murderers out there. I better not think about that. I look down at the sink and fill my glass with water. I take a drink and look back out the window. The little girl from my dreams is looking right at me from outside the window! I scream and the glass drops out of my hand and onto the floor and breaks. I look down at the broken glass, and then back up at the window, but she's gone.

"What happened?" Hannah asks as she runs in. Guthrie and Adam are behind her.

"Why'd you scream?" Guthrie asks.

I just stare at them because I can't talk.

"Are you ok, Heidi? Did you cut yourself?" Hannah asks. She looks at me and then starts cleaning up the mess. "Go stand over there," she says.

Adam moves me out of the way and he helps Hannah clean up the mess.

"Heidi, why do you look so scared?" Guthrie whispers.

I whisper in his ear, "I saw the little girl from my dreams. She was standing outside looking in the window."

"Come on, let's go upstairs." He pulls me with him and we go up to the boys bedroom. We each climb up to the top of a bunk bed and sit looking at each other.

"Guthrie I was so scared! She looked scary!"

"Heidi, we're not supposed to be talking about this stuff," Guthrie says.

"I know. But she was right there! I swear!"

"Ok, but if we keep talking about it then we're gonna be even scareder," he says.

"I know, and Adam will be mad, but Guthrie she was right there. What if she's inside now?" I start to cry.

Guthrie jumps down from his bunk bed and climbs up mine. He sits next to me and puts his arm around me, and says, "it'll be ok." Then he says, "sh! Be quiet! Someone's coming!"

"I hope it's not the little girl!" I cry.

It's not. It's just Hannah and Adam coming into the room.

"What are you doing in here?" Hannah asks. "Why are you crying?" She comes over and looks up at me. "Did you cut yourself?"

I shake my head no.

"Look at me," she says. I do, and she asks, "what's wrong?"

All I can do is shake my head.

"Guthrie, do you know what's wrong?" Adam asks.

Guthrie looks at me and I shake my head at him.

"Guthrie if you know what's wrong just say it. She looks scared." Adam says.

"She saw something."

"What?" He asks.

"I saw the little girl from my dreams. She was looking at me through the window," I say crying.

"Heidi doesn't want you to get mad at her for seeing her." Guthrie tells him.

Adam sighs. "Come on." He reaches up and takes me off the bed. "Guthrie, why don't you and I go see if we can get the tv working, while Hannah makes us some popcorn."

"Can we have soda with it?" He asks.

"Yes," Hannah says.

Adam carries me and we all go downstairs. He puts me on the couch and gets the tv. It's sitting on the floor by the bookcase. He pushes the coffee table farther away from the couch and sets the tv on top of it. He plugs a long extension cord into it and then plugs the other end into the wall. Guthrie turns the tv on and Adam moves the antennae around, while Guthrie tells him if the picture is good.

"Yes!" Guthrie says. "Look Heidi, it's the Dukes of Hazard! You love that show!"

I do. Guthrie starts singing the theme song, and usually I sing it with him, but tonight I don't. Hannah brings the popcorn in and Adam gets the sodas.

Guthrie tells Adam and Hannah to sit in the middle of the couch and he sits on Hannah's side while I sit next to Adam.

"Wait! I have to turn out the lights!" Guthrie says. He's really excited. He jumps up and turns them all off and we sit together and watch the show.

When the show is over I don't know what comes on next because I close my eyes. My head is resting on Adam's lap and I have a nice warm blanket on me. I try to open my eyes, but they're so tired I can't keep them open, and I end up falling asleep

* * *

I see her face. It's so white, but her lips are so red. Her red eyes have dark circles around them and her eyes look so sad. She's saying something but I can't hear what it is.

"I can't hear you," I say.

She mouths the words again. And then I hear her. She's laughing. And the laughing gets louder, and louder, and I get scared. And then she laughs so loud that I jump. I open my eyes and sit up.

"Sh!" Adam is saying. I look around and see all four of us still on the couch, but the TV is turned off. We must have fallen asleep. My brothers are coming in the doorway and they're laughing. They must be back from town. "Sh!" Adam says to them again. They laugh quieter and go upstairs. I lay back down and close my eyes.

* * *

When I open my eyes again it's morning. I smell bacon cooking. I sit up and see that I'm still on the couch. I hear lots of talking in the kitchen, so I get up and go in there.

"Good morning!" Hannah says. Brian is making pancakes and Guthrie's helping him. I walk over to my chair but Crane grabs me before I can sit down at the table.

"I think someone's still asleep," Crane says, while he grabs me in a big hug and tickles me. That makes me laugh. "Oh, she _is_ awake," he says laughing.

I sit down at the table and watch everyone get breakfast ready. I yawn and then I remember what today is. I jump up from chair. "Yeah! Today's the slumber party! What time does it start and who's gonna take me?" I ask.

"Calm down," Hannah says laughing. "I think the invitation says 6:00."

"I have to go get ready!" I start to run out of the kitchen. "I have to pack!"

"Hold it!" Hannah says. "Sit down and eat some breakfast first."

I groan and go back to my chair and sit down. But when breakfast is ready, I eat it as fast as I can and go upstairs to pack.

* * *

The day goes by so slowly. I'm all packed and waiting by the door ready to go. After what seems like forever, it's _finally_ time to go. Crane and Brian are taking me because they're going to stay in town after they drop me off.

When they pull up to the house they park on the street.

"Ok, use good manners and be nice to everyone," Crane says.

"I know, Jeez, this isn't my first slumber party!" I tell him.

"Try not to break anything," Brian says and they laugh.

"Hey!"

"Ok, we're kidding." Crane says. "Give me a hug goodbye, twerp."

I hug them both, which is kinda hard from the backseat, and then I get out of the jeep.

"Do you need any help carrying your stuff?" They ask.

"No, I got it. Bye!" I run up to the house.

* * *

Susie's house is a two story house. It's big like mine except hers has more bedrooms. The whole house is decorated on the outside. There's fake gravestones on the grass and spiderwebs everywhere. I wish we could decorate our house, but Crane says it costs too much money to do that. Besides, no one comes to our house to trick-or-treat, so there's really no reason to do it.

When I walk inside the house it's decorated too. There's fake cobwebs and spiders and scary decorations on the walls. Their house is kind of clean inside like Denise's but not as perfect. The first person I see is Susie's mom. She smiles at me. That's a relief, I was hoping she wouldn't still be mad about the doll I broke.

"Hi, thanks for inviting me," I say.

She says hi and takes me downstairs to their family room where all the girls are. Most of the girls from my class are already here. I see Denise over by the couch so I walk over to her and put my stuff down next to hers. Everyone says hi to me and then Susie's mom brings pizza down to us. I don't get to have pizza to often because Crane says it's too expensive. So this pizza tastes really good.

* * *

The first part of the party is fun. We play games and eat lots of candy and there's some scary music playing in the background. But around 9:00 Susie's mom says we have to get our sleeping bags out and get ready for bed. She says we don't have to go to bed yet, we just have to get ready for it.

We all have fun picking who we're gonna sleep next to and where. We put all of our sleeping bags in a big circle with our heads facing the middle. Denise puts her sleeping bag next to mine and then we put our pajamas on and go brush our teeth. Once everyone's ready for bed, Susie turns the light off and turns a lamp on next to the couch, and we all sit on our sleeping bags.

"Now the scary part of the party starts," Susie says. "Let's tell ghost stories!" We all agree so she says, "I'll start. My cousin told me this one and it's scary!"

We all gather around closer to the middle of the circle and Susie starts. She tells the story in a slow spooky voice.

"One night a little girl was home alone watching scary movies on TV. Her parents weren't home, they were in town at a party. As the little girl watched the movies, she occasionally looked up from the TV to glance out the window above it. It was snowing a lot outside, but she was nice and warm inside, snuggling with her blanket on the couch.

At midnight the little girl's parents still weren't home and she started to get scared. She kept watching TV but out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving in the window.

She looked closer and saw it looked like a man and he was walking towards her. As he got closer she saw his face and it was covered in blood! His eyes were crazy looking and he was smiling at her creepily.

The little girl hid under her blanket hoping he would go away. Slowly she peeked out from under her blanket and the man was still there. He was just standing there in the window staring right at her. Then he pulled something out of his coat and it was a long knife.

The little girl reached very carefully and slowly for the phone by the couch and dialed the police. When the police asked what her emergency was, she said very quietly, "there's a man standing outside my window with a knife. Please come quickly!" Then she laid as still as she could under the blanket hoping the man would think it was just a blanket laying on he couch.

When the police got there they came inside and told her nobody was outside. But the little girl pointed to the window and said "I saw him right there in the window."

"That's impossible," the police said. "If someone was there we would've seen footprints in the snow, and there aren't any out there."

The little girl said, "But he was standing right there, staring right at me. I saw him with my own two eyes."

And the police said "You know, your eyes can play tricks on you. Maybe you've been watching too many scary movies."

When the police turned to leave, all of a sudden, they stopped and looked behind the couch. They looked shocked. Behind the couch, there was a trail of wet footprints and a long knife laying on the floor.

"You weren't looking at the man _outside_ the window," said the policeman. "You were looking at his reflection. He was standing right behind you the whole time!"

Everyone gasps and I think about the little girl I saw in the window last night. I wonder if she was really inside my house and standing behind me. I'm starting to feel scared.

We all take turns telling stories but I thought Susie's was the scariest. Then Susie wants to play 'light as a feather, stiff as a board'. I groan and a few other girls do too. I hate this game 'cause it never works. But I play anyway.

Amy lays down and we all sit around her in a circle and put our fingers underneath her. Susie tells her to lay as straight and as still as she can while we chant, "light as a feather, stiff as a board," and try to lift her up with our fingers. It doesn't work. It never does. But, we each take turns laying down hoping it will work.

Then Amy says, "let's get the Ouija board out."

Everyone agrees and wants to know what it is. Susie walks over to the couch. She reaches down and pulls a box out from underneath the couch. It looks like a board game. Then she gets a small table like a TV tray that goes on your lap and puts it in the center of our sleeping bag circle. Susie sits in front of the table.

"My mom doesn't know I have this, so you can't tell anyone about it. My cousin is letting me borrow it. She's in high school."

Susie opens the box and takes the board out and unfolds it. It has a bunch of letters and numbers all over it like the alphabet, and some words like yes and no. She puts it on the table and then takes a plastic triangle thing out of the box. It has a glass circle in the middle of it so you can see through it. I've never seen anything like it before and neither have any of the other girls. Just Amy and Susie know what it is.

"With this Ouija board you can talk to ghosts."

"What?" I ask.

"You can talk to the ghosts or spirits in this room. You ask them questions and then they move the triangle so it spells out the answer," Susie says.

Everyone's excited and Susie says, "I'll ask the first question." She puts the triangle in the middle of the board and puts her fingers on one side of the triangle and Amy puts hers on another side.

"Denise, put your fingers on that side of the triangle," Susie tells her.

Denise sits at the little table and puts her fingers on the triangle. We all gather around so we can watch.

"Ok, here's the first question." Everyone is quiet. "Is my house haunted," Susie asks.

We all watch the board. Nothing happens for a little while and then all of a sudden the triangle piece starts moving! We watch it slowly move across the board, and when it stops you can read the word 'yes' under the glass circle piece in the middle of the triangle.

"What! How'd it do that?" I ask.

Amy laughs a little. "The spirit moved it."

I think about that for a minute. "So there's a ghost in here and you're talking to it?"

"Yes!" Both Susie and Amy say. They're smiling at everyone and we're all shocked.

Then Amy says, "let's ask if my house is haunted."

They ask, and the triangle moves to the word no. Now we all want to try.

"Do my house next," I say.

"Ok," Susie says. "Denise move and let Heidi put her fingers on the triangle."

Denise and I trade places and I put my fingers on the triangle. I'm a little scared.

Susie asks the spirit, "is Heidi's house haunted?"

The triangle is still for a little bit, and then I feel it moving! It's like something's pushing it! A ghost is pushing it! It moves to the word 'yes'.

"I knew it!" I yell.

Then everyone else takes a turn and asks if their house is haunted. Some are yes and some are no. Then I want to know what the letters on the board are for.

"Those are for asking questions that aren't yes or no questions."

"Like what?" I ask.

"I'll show you," Susie says. Then she asks the spirit, "spirit ghost, what is your name?"

We all watch as the triangle moves across the board to the letter 'j' and stops. Then it moves to the letter 'a' and stops, and then it keeps doing that until it spells the name 'Janice'.

Susie gasps and says, "that's my grandma's name! Are you my grandma?" The triangle moves to the word, yes! We're all shocked.

Denise asks, "can Heidi, Nancy and I put our fingers on the triangle and ask the ghost a question?"

Susie and Amy look at each other and then Susie says, "no."

"How come you guys always have your fingers on the triangle?" Denise asks. "Why can't three new people touch it?"

"The ghosts in my house only know me and Amy. We've played this at my house with my cousin before. So we're the only ones that should touch it besides one other person."

Then everyone takes turns asking the spirit or ghost questions, but I don't. I'm thinking. Somehow I have to get that Ouija board from Susie! Then I can take it home and use it to talk to the ghost of the little girl from my dreams. Then I think of something even better! Maybe Guthrie and I can use it to talk to the ghosts of our mom and dad.


	11. Chapter 11

After a while everyone starts getting tired and lays down. Soon it's just me, Denise, Susie and Amy that are awake.

"It's almost midnight," Susie says. "It's time to play Bloody Mary."

"What's that?" Denise asks. I'm glad she asked because I don't know what that is either.

"Come on," Amy says.

We follow her to the bathroom and Susie closes the door.

"At exactly midnight, we have to look in the mirror, turn off the light, and say Bloody Mary three times. Then we'll see her ghost in the mirror," Amy says.

Susie says, "I've seen her before and she looks scary!"

There's a small clock on the wall and when it says midnight Susie turns off the light.

Amy says, "Bloody Mary," then she pauses and says again, "Bloody Mary," and then both Denise and I scream and open the door and run out. Amy and Susie laugh at us.

"That was scary," I say. "I don't want to see her." Denise agrees.

The four of us go back to our sleeping bags and sit down. Everyone else is still asleep so we talk about ghost stories some more, but I'm not paying that much attention to them because I'm thinking about the Ouija board.

"Susie, can I borrow your Ouija Board?"

Susie looks at me and her eyes get big. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea." She looks at Amy.

"Please?" I tell her about the little girl from my dreams and how I really want to talk to her.

"No, the ghost in your house might get mad at you."

"Why? The ghosts in your house didn't get mad at you tonight."

I can tell she really doesn't want to let me borrow it. "Please? I really want it so I can talk to my mom and dad. I want to ask them what heaven is like."

Susie looks a little sad and she starts shaking her head no, but Amy says, "just let her borrow it." And then she whispers something in Susie's ear.

"Ok, you can borrow it. But bring it to school on Monday. I have to give it back to my cousin on Halloween."

Then Amy adds, "but don't tell your brothers about it. Remember it's a secret."

"Thank you! Don't worry I won't tell them anything about it!"

She gives me the box and I put it near my pillow. I can't wait to show Guthrie, and I can't wait to talk to the ghost of the little girl and the ghosts of my mom and dad!

"Let's see who can stay up the longest," Amy says.

We all lay down and talk about stuff. Scary stuff. Pretty soon Amy and Susie are asleep and it's just me and Denise that are awake. We look at the clock. 3:30. We talk and talk and I don't feel tired at all. It must be from all the soda and candy I had. Hannah says eating a lot of that stuff can make you hyper. I guess she's right. So we talk some more until 4:30.

* * *

We must have dozed off because the next thing I know is it's 7:00 and I smell bacon. We're all waking up and everyone is super tired, especially Denise, Susie, Amy, and I. I yawn and stretch and I feel like laying down and going back to sleep, but Susie's mom calls us from upstairs and says it's time to eat breakfast.

After breakfast we get dressed and pack up our stuff. I put the Ouija board in my pillow case with my pillow so it's easier to carry. Then I bring everything upstairs to the living room because that's where we're waiting to be picked up. I sit on the couch next to Denise and I can see she's already asleep. Susie's mom says we all look tired and should probably take a nap when we get home. She starts to say something else but I don't hear what it is because I close my eyes and fall asleep.

The next thing I know is I hear Hannah's voice waking me up. I open my eyes and look around. Some of the girls have already gone home and the rest of us are either sleeping or are almost asleep. I don't want to get up so Hannah helps me. She picks up my stuff and talks to Susie's mom a little bit and then I say thank you and we're out the door.

"Did you have fun?" She asks.

"Yes. I stayed up almost the whole entire night. I'm really tired."

She groans and says, "you're gonna be tired today."

"I just want to go home and sleep."

She holds up my pillow and asks, "whatcha got in here?"

"That's a game Susie's letting me borrow."

When we get to the jeep Adam, Ford and Guthrie are in it. Hannah puts my stuff in the back of the jeep and we get in.

"We've got a few errands to run before we go home," Hannah tells me, and I groan.

* * *

We drive to Main Street and park in front of Marie's Diner. Hannah used to work here.

"Why are we stopping here?" I ask.

"I've gotta run in and get something from Marie really quick."

Guthrie wants to know about the party but I tell him not to bug me. "I'm too tired to talk."

When Hannah comes out she says she needs to go to the bank across the street.

Adam says, "we'll walk to the General Store and you can drive the jeep over and meet us there when you're done.

I'm so tired and there's no way I'm going to walk anywhere. "Why can't _we_ drive and have _Hannah_ walk to the store to meet _us_?" I ask.

Adam turns around and glares at me and then Hannah whispers something in his ear and he groans. He gives Hannah the keys and gets out of the jeep and walks her across the street.

Guthrie says, "Heidi, you're starting to say the kind of stuff that makes people mad."

I glare at him. "No I'm not!" I yell. "I'm just saying what I feel like! Leave me alone! I'm tired!"

"Jeez Heidi, you're grumpy," Guthrie says.

Ford laughs a little and says, "yeah, you're really grumpy."

"Then just leave me alone!"

Adam's back and he says, "let's go."

We all get out and start walking. I feel really tired and my head feels funny so I stop walking. "I think I have a headache."

Adam stops and says "you can have some aspirin when you get home." He puts his hand on my back and nudges me forward. "Let's go."

Ford asks Adam if he can go to the feed store and meet us at the General Store in a little bit. He runs off after Adam says yes. Cleo works at the feed store and I bet she's working today.

We walk by a bench in front of a store so I sit down. "I'll meet you at the store too."

"You're not staying here by yourself," Adam says as he puts his hand under my armpit and pulls me up.

"Why can't Guthrie stay with me?"

"I don't want to stay here. I want to look at the comic books," he says. "And besides, you're way too grumpy."

I follow slowly behind them. I'm not grumpy, I think to myself. I'm mad!

* * *

When we finally get to the store I walk to the candy isle. I wish I had some money. I find Adam and ask if I can have some but he says no. I don't think he liked it when I said Hannah would've given me some, because he told me to go away.

I try to find Guthrie but I stop in front of a display. Usually the display is a bunch of cans in a pyramid shape that reaches up really high. Probably about as tall as Adam or Brian. I always wonder how you're supposed to get a can down if you can't reach the top. But today the display isn't cans it's cracker boxes and it's definitely taller than Adam or Brian. It's huge!

I ask a person that works at the store how you were supposed to get a box down, and he said the boxes were all empty. When I asked why he said he didn't know why. He also said he didn't know why the display was there because he said it was an accident waiting to happen. He said if someone accidentally bumped it, the whole thing would fall over. I asked if I could try to take a box out and see if the display would still stand up and he told me no, and then he told me to go away. So I did.

After he leaves I go back. I look up at the pyramid and it's really tall. I bet I could just slide one box out really slowly and carefully and it wouldn't fall over. It's like a puzzle. I decide which box would be the best one to move and then I look around to make sure no one's looking. I hold the box and I carefully start to slide it out. It's working! The pyramid's not moving at all! But then I hear Guthrie yell, "Heidi don't touch that!" And he scares me so I jump and the whole pyramid falls over and there's boxes flying all over the place!

I freeze and everyone in the store is looking at me. I realize I'm still holding the cracker box, so I let go and it drops to the ground.

The man that works at the store is walking towards me and he's glaring. But then I see Adam walking towards me and he's glaring worse. So I run out of the store and down the street a little bit, and then I run down a side street and sit on the curb and cry. I just want to go home!

* * *

Guthrie finds me and says, "Adam wants you to come back and apologize."

"Why? You did it."

"What! How did I do that?"

"You yelled at me and it scared me so I jumped! That's how! I almost had the box out and the pyramid wasn't wobbling or anything! You go apologize!"

"So you want me to go back and tell Adam you're not coming?" He asks.

I think about that. "You don't have to go back. You could pretend you didn't find me and we could just sit here for awhile."

"No! He's mad! You have to go back! Come on!" He reaches down and grabs my arm and starts pulling it.

"Stop!" I yell. But he doesn't. "I'm gonna hit you!" I warn him.

"You'd better not!"

I break my arm free, stand up and scream as loud as I can, "leave me alone!" I push him as hard as I can so he falls on the ground. And then I feel really, really bad and I cry.

Guthrie gets up and runs back to the store, and I don't know if I should stay here or run. I'm too tired to run so I sit back down. I wish I could start this day all over again.

* * *

It doesn't take Guthrie long to come back with Adam. I don't even bother to look up.

"Get up, go into the store, and apologize. Now!" He yells.

I get up and Adam and Guthrie follow behind me. When I walk into the store the man that works there is trying to stack the boxes back up. When he sees me he stops and looks at me.

"I'm sorry for knocking your boxes down." There. I said it. I turn to leave but the man starts talking to me.

"I told you not to touch the boxes. Now look at this mess I have to clean up!"

I'm getting mad and I feel like saying something to him, but Adam must know that too because he puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes it a little.

"I'm sorry," I say it again and then I turn around but the man doesn't stop talking!

"Do you know how long it's gonna take me to rebuild this?"

Then I feel Adam squeeze my shoulder a little harder, but I don't care. "Look, Mr. Store man, you even said to me this was an accident waiting to happen! You shouldn't even have a dumb box pyramid to begin with! Or a can one!" I have to yell that last part about the can pyramid, because Adam is dragging me out the door.

Hannah is just outside the door and Ford's with her.

When she sees us she asks, "what's wrong?"

"Where's the jeep?" Adam asks.

"Right there," Hannah says pointing a few cars down the street. "Why?"

Adam starts walking towards it, and guiding me to it. "We're going home!" He says.

"Why? I still have a few things to get here." She says, following us.

"We're going home."

We all get in the jeep and Adam starts driving. "What happened?" Ford asks Guthrie.

"Heidi and her big mouth happened! And also she knocked down a bunch of boxes in the store."

"I did not! You did!" I yell.

"No I didn't! Quit saying that! I didn't even touch them!"

"But you scared me so I jumped!" I jab Guthrie with my elbow.

"Ow! Knock it off!" He jabs me back.

And then we realize the jeep's not moving anymore and we're on the side of the road.

Adam gets out and says, "you two, get out of the jeep."

"Why?" I ask, as Guthrie climbs out on Ford's side.

"Get out!"

I get out and we stand on the side of the road.

"Are you gonna leave us here?" I ask. "Because I don't think you can do that!"

Guthrie groans and Adam puts his hands up in the air and then kicks the tire of the jeep.

Hannah gets out and walks over to Adam, but he starts pacing. Then he stops and glares at me and says slowly in a normal sounding voice, "you don't think I can do that?" And then he yells. "Is that what you just said to me? You don't think I can do that?"

Guthrie whispers to me, "Heidi, don't say anything."

I just stare at Adam and then I quietly say, "yeeeees?"

Guthrie groans again and Adam yells, "no I'm not going to leave you here! Guthrie you sit on that side of Ford. And you!" He points his finger at me and yells, "believe me, I'd LOVE to leave you here right now!" That makes me cry. "You sit on that side and I don't want to hear another word come out of your mouth!"

I get in and fold my arms across my chest. But it doesn't take long before I fall asleep.

* * *

I wake up when the car stops and I see we're home. My head hurts a lot now. I get out and get my stuff out of the jeep and walk towards the house.

Crane is walking towards us and when he gets to me he smiles and says, "how was the party twerp?"

I ignore him and keep walking to the house. I just want to lay down. I don't know why my head hurts so much and I just want this day to be over. I walk through the front door and drop my stuff there and walk to the couch and lay down.

Brian comes out of the kitchen and when he sees me he asks about the party. I start crying so he sits down next to me.

"What's wrong? Was the party that bad?"

I shake my head no.

"Did you break something?" He asks.

I look up at him. "No."

"Then what?"

"I'm having a bad day and my head hurts really, really bad!"

"Tell me about it."

"Everybody's mad at me," I tell him. I stop crying.

"I've had those kind of days. So what happened?"

I sit up. "I made a whole bunch of boxes fall in the store." I tell him about the box pyramid and what I did.

Brian laughs.

"Why are you laughing?"

"When Daniel and Evan were younger, probably 9 and 8, they did the same thing. They were fighting and Daniel pushed Evan into this big pyramid of boxes and the boxes fell all over the place. I don't know why they keep making those stupid pyramids. Anyway, Evan and Daniel just stood there and Adam was so mad, but I think he was embarrassed too. So he made them apologize and then he made us all go home. We weren't done shopping either. He just said we're going home and that's all he said."

"That's what he did today! He made me apologize and then he said we were going home. And Hannah wasn't done shopping yet! I told the man at the store they shouldn't have a box pyramid or a can one!"

Brian looks at me and laughs a little. "You probably shouldn't have said that."

"Why not? It's the truth."

"I know. You just shouldn't have said that."

"How am I supposed to know when to say something and when not to? Guthrie says sometimes I say things that make people mad."

"Yeah, you do do that sometimes."

He puts his arm around me and I lean against him. "Brian I'm tired and my head hurts a lot. I stayed up almost the whole night."

"Go to sleep then. Just close your eyes."

I close them but I open them back up when the front door opens and Guthrie comes in. He looks at me and I can see he's still mad.

"Why do you look so mad?" Brian asks him.

"Because Heidi's been being mean and grumpy to me all day. She blamed me for all the boxes falling over. She was even mean to the man that works in the store. She yelled at him and she called him Mr. Store man."

Brian starts to laugh but then stops. "Yeah, you definitely shouldn't have said that."

"I didn't know what his name was."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't Mr. Store man," Brian says.

"Adam's mad at you Heidi. He's talking to Hannah and Crane about it outside. He said you're gonna take a long nap today, and he said you're not going to any more slumber parties or spending the night at anyone's house for a long time."

That makes me cry.

"Ok Guthrie," Brian says, "why don't you go somewhere else now."

"He also said he's gonna do something about that mouth of yours."

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"I don't know. He told me to go away."

"Guthrie, go somewhere else now." Brian says.

"Ok, but I think he's coming inside now, and Hannah's not with him." Guthrie goes out the door and Adam comes in.

He looks at me and then closes the door. He walks over to the couch across from me and Brian and sits down.

Brian says, "I heard you had a box problem today."

"Among other things," Adam says. He keeps staring at me.

"Do you remember when Daniel pushed Evan into that box pyramid when they were little?" Brian laughs a little.

"Yep," Adam says. And that's all he says. He just keeps staring at me.

"They really shouldn't have those in stores, don't you think?" Brian asks. "Seems like someone's always bumping into them."

"Bumping into them, yes. Purposely trying to make it fall over, no." Adam says still staring at me.

I sit up. "But I didn't do it on purpose. I wanted to see if I could just pull one box out and see if it would still stand up. I almost had it out and the pyramid wasn't wobbly or anything, but then Guthrie yelled and it scared me, so I jumped and it all fell down. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to fall."

Adam keeps staring at me and says, "but the man working..."

Brian laughs just a little bit, "you mean Mr. Store man?"

"Brian!" Adam yells and stares at him instead of me, but only for a second.

Then he stares at me again and starts over. "The man working at the store said he told you not to touch it. Is that true?"

I don't answer because the worker did say that. So I just stare at Adam.

"Since you're not answering me, I'll take it that's a yes?"

I nod my head.

"Why do you do that!" He yells. "If he said don't touch it, don't touch it!"

That makes me cry. "I'm sorry," I say quietly.

Brian puts his arm back around me and I lean against him. "I just wanted to go home. Why couldn't we have just come home? I'm tired and my head hurts."

"I'll go get you some aspirin," Brian says. He gets up and quickly goes upstairs to the bathroom while Adam just sits there staring at me.

I look at him and then I look down at the floor. I keep doing that until Brian comes down with the aspirin and a cup of water. He holds the aspirin out to me and I look at it.

"Hannah doesn't give that kind to me," I tell him.

"What's wrong with it? I cut it in half."

"She says it's not good for me."

"It was good enough for you before she came. Why isn't it now?" He holds it out closer to me. "Just take it."

I look up at him and shake my head no. "She gives me little pink pills."

"Pink pills? What the heck kind of aspirin is that?" He moves his hand closer to me. "Take this. You don't need little pink pills."

"I'm gonna tell her you said that."

Brian looks at me and says, "ok, fine. She wants you to have a little pink pill, I'll get you a little pink pill." He shakes his head and says stuff really quietly that I can't hear as he goes back upstairs. I look at Adam and he's still staring at me so I look away.

When Brian comes back down he hands me a little pink pill.

I look at him and say, "she gives me more than one."

"What? Why? Forget the pink pills, just take the damn white pill and be done with it! I'm not going back upstairs! And you can tell her I said that!"

"Okay. But I don't think she'll like it," I tell him as I take the aspirin. When Brian sits down again he puts his arm back around me and I lean next to him and close my eyes.

"Go up to your room and take a nap," Adam says. "A long nap! You're not taking one down here."

* * *

I get up and walk over to the stairs. I pick up my pillow with the game in it, and go up to my room. Once I'm in my room I take the game out and hide it under my bed. I hope Guthrie will want to play it with me later. I lay down on my bed and close my eyes. I can hear Adam and Brian talking downstairs. They're talking quietly, but I can still hear them.

Adam groans. "Brian, what am I gonna do with her?"

"What'd you mean? She was just having a little fun with the boxes. I really don't think she meant for them to fall. I think I might've even laughed a little if I'd been there. I would've also told 'Mr. Store man' he shouldn't have a box pyramid in his store either." He laughs a little.

"I know you would have. Believe me, the brother inside me wanted to say that too, and laugh a little bit. But the dad in me said I couldn't. And it's not just about the boxes, it's about that mouth of hers too."

"Come on Adam, you gotta admit, Mr. Store man 'is' kinda funny."

"I know, but that's not the point! Sure, lots of the things that come out of her mouth are funny, but she's such a smart Alec. It's like she just explodes sometimes and doesn't think about what she's saying!"

"You know she says and does things without thinking about the consequences," Brian says. "You also know she has a temper."

"But why does it have to be all the time?"

"I don't know, maybe it's just a phase. She's ten, she'll grow out of it. Remember what Daniel, Evan and Ford were like at ten? Even Guthrie had a little bit of a mouth on him."

"Not like Heidi's!" I can hear him sigh. "Hannah thinks today was all about too much sugar at the party and not getting enough sleep last night. I guess she's right. I don't know anything about slumber parties. Boys don't have slumber parties. We never went to slumber parties when we were kids." He's quiet for a little bit. "It sure seems like boys are easier to raise than girls."

"I agree with you on that. Girls are definitely harder. They cry a lot too. I hate all the crying."

"Maybe she's like this because she's a girl, or maybe it's because she's the youngest, or maybe it's because she hasn't had a mother figure in her life. I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm just her brother and not her dad."

"Adam you're not _just_ her brother, you're the only dad she's ever known, and you're a good dad. Maybe she's like this because she's just a stubborn, strong-willed, McFadden kid. Like all of us were, and some of us still are. And look how we turned out." I can hear Brian laughing.

"I think some of us turned out better than others!" Adam is laughing now and then he stops. "All I know is, I don't know how much more of that mouth I can take. Sometimes I wonder what mom and dad would do."

I think about that. Maybe he could ask them using the Ouija board game Susie is letting me borrow. And then I don't hear anything else because I fall asleep.

* * *

When I wake up my clock says 3:30. That was probably a long enough nap so I decide to get up. It's quiet in the house so I guess everyone's outside. I have to go find Guthrie and tell him I'm sorry.

It doesn't take too long to find him because he's sitting on the porch steps right outside the front door.

"What are you doing?" I ask him as I sit down next to him. He doesn't answer me, he just keeps playing with a stick. "I'm sorry I was so mean to you today." He still doesn't say anything. "I'm really, really sorry."

He laughs. "Ok as long as you're _really, really_ sorry, then I forgive you." He looks at me and says, "Hannah said you were just really tired from the party and that's why you were so mad."

"Yeah, I was really tired. I still feel tired. I stayed up almost the whole entire night. I'm sorry I blamed you for knocking over the boxes."

"That's ok. Sorry I made you jump. I thought all the boxes falling in the store was funny!"

"You did?"

"Yeah. Adam got mad at me for laughing. That's when he told me to go get you."

"Sorry for pushing you," I say.

"That's ok. That was so funny when you called the man, 'Mr. Store man'."

"Adam didn't think it was funny. Do you know where he is? I wanna make sure I don't run into him before dinner."

"Nope, I don't know where he is."

"Then let's go somewhere before he finds me. Let's go to the river."

"If he's looking for you that's the first place he'll look. Let's go to the pond instead."

"Ok."

* * *

We don't get very far when I hear Adam calling my name. We stop walking and I turn around and groan.

Guthrie stands in front of me, puts his hands on my shoulders and says, "just don't talk a whole lot, and don't get mad. Just answer all his questions with yes or no and when he yells don't yell back, just listen and agree with everything he says. If he tells you to do something don't ask why. Why is the absolute worst thing you can say."

"That's a whole lot of things to remember," I tell him.

"Just keep your mouth shut," he whispers as Adam walks up to us.

"I thought I told you to take a nap!"

"I did. I slept for a while and then I got up," I tell him.

"Too much," Guthrie whispers. "Just say yes or no."

"What are you whispering to her Guthrie?"

"Nothing."

"I need to talk to Heidi, so I need you to go tell all your brothers we're having a family meeting in an hour."

Guthrie leaves and Adam looks at me. "That wasn't a very long nap you took."

What do I say. I can't answer yes or no so I just look at him.

"I want to talk to you about earlier today," he says.

I stare at him. "Are you gonna yell at me?"

"That depends on you," he says.

I stare at him again. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Let's go back to the house," he says.

We start walking back to the house and I say, "I'm sorry for knocking the boxes down."

"I know," he says.

"I'm sorry for yelling at the worker man in the store."

"That's what I want to talk to you about. You can't talk to people like that."

"I know. I'm sorry." He's quiet so I look up at him and ask, "are we done talking now?"

"No."

Darn. I was hoping that was it.

We reach the house and sit on the porch steps. I look around for something to play with and then I see the stick Guthrie was playing with earlier. It's over on the grass so I go get it and bring it back.

"What are you doing with that?" He asks.

"I'm gonna dig a little hole with it while you talk."

"No you're not. You're going to put the stick down and listen to me."

"It's easier to listen if I play with something." I say digging at the ground.

He takes the stick out of my hand and puts it on his side, so I sigh.

"Adam, who's going to take me trick-or-treating?"

"I don't know, I don't want to talk about that right now."

"When do you think you'll know?"

"Heidi, stop asking questions and listen. I don't like some of things you say. I don't like it when you tell me I can't do something, like take trick-or-treating away from you, or leave you on the side of the road."

"But you can't do those things."

"Yes I can." His voice sounds a little louder now.

"You'd just leave me on the side of the road to die?" I cry.

"No I wouldn't leave you on the side of the road to die! Quit being so dramatic! That's not what I'm talking about!"

"Are you gonna yell now?"

"Yes, I'm gonna yell now! Quit telling me I can't do things. I can take things away from you and I can tell you what to do!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm in charge of you!" He yells. "If I tell you to get out of the car, you do it! If I say you can't go trick-or-treating, you can't! When are you gonna get that through that thick skull of yours?"

Now I'm getting mad. I stand up and face him. "Maybe you shouldn't be in charge of me since you don't know anything about girls!"

"See, that right there! You can't talk to me like that!"

"What if this is the way girls talk! You don't even know anything about girls! You just know boy stuff! I'm sorry I'm not a boy like everyone else around here!"

"What? Why are you saying that?"

"Because it's true! I hear you say it all the time, that you don't know how to raise girls, and boys are easier, and you hope I'm a phase!"

"I don't think that," he says. He's not yelling at me now.

I cry. "Yes you do. I heard you say it today when you were talking to Brian. You don't like it when I cry and you don't like my mouth! And you wish mom and dad were here so they could raise me instead of you, because you don't know how to do it!"

He looks at me and he looks a little sad. "You heard all that?"

I nod my head and wipe the tears off my cheeks.

"I didn't say I didn't want to raise you. I want to raise you."

"But you said you don't know how."

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to do it. Heidi, I didn't know how to raise a baby, but I did it. I don't know how to raise a girl because I've never done it before. I'm learning how and I need you to help me."

"How?"

"If I tell you to do something, you need to do it. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Without asking why?"

I think about that for a minute. "Yes. I could try."

He smiles at me. "Can you try to think about what you're going to say before you say it."

I'm quiet and I stare at him.

"How come you're not answering?" He asks.

I smile at him. "I'm thinking about what I'm going to say before I say it."

He laughs and says, "ok. What's your answer? Will you think before you say something?"

"Yes. But that's going to be really hard to do."

"I know. Just try."

"Ok."

"Come here you crazy kid!" He says as I move closer and he hugs me.

The front door opens and Brian says, "we're all here now. Let's get this meeting started so we can get out of here."

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Not you," Brian says. "Us."

I wonder what that means.

* * *

Family meetings are boring to me so I hardly ever listen. Everyone's in the living room and I go sit next to Guthrie on the couch.

Crane starts talking about money so I start talking to Guthrie.

"Guthrie, I have this really cool game that Susie let me borrow," I whisper.

"What's it called?"

"It's hard to pronounce. But it's a game that let's you talk to dead people."

"What?"

"Yeah, it lets you talk to ghosts in your house."

"I don't believe you," he whispers.

"It's true. We played it at Susie's house and it worked! Will you play it with me tonight?"

"Ok, but if it talks to ghosts I don't think Adam's going to like that."

"He won't know. It's a secret. We have to play it late at night when everyone's asleep."

"Ok, I'll play, but...," he whispers, but we get interrupted when we hear Evan yell.

"That's not fair!"

"Yeah," Ford says. Why do we have to do that?"

"Why can't one of you guys stay home with her?" Evan yells.

Adam yells back, "you don't need to stay out that late on Halloween. It's a school night and Guthrie's only twelve. I don't want him hanging out there all night getting into trouble."

"What are you talking about?" Guthrie asks.

"Halloween dummy!" Evan yells.

"Evan!" Both Adam and Brian yell at the same time.

"What about it?" Guthrie asks.

Ford tells him, "Adam said we have to be home by 9:00 so we can watch Heidi while they go to the party."

"That's not fair!" Guthrie yells. "It's my first time to go to Racetrack!"

"Who's taking me trick-or-treating?" I ask.

"Haven't you guys been listening?" Adam asks.

We stare at him.

"Never mind. Crane's taking you."

I smile.

"Then why can't Crane just stay with her when they're done?"

"Yeah!" Both Ford and Guthrie ask.

"Because this is how it's gonna work this year!" Adam yells.

Evan and Ford glare at me.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Brian says.

"Where are you guys going?" I ask.

Everyone looks at me and Adam says, "did you listen to anything we talked about?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"We're all going into Sonora tonight," Hannah says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Daniel's band is playing and we're all going to go listen."

"Guthrie and I get to stay home alone?" I ask smiling.

Everyone laughs at that.

"No, Evan and Ford are staying home with you."

"No adult?" Guthrie asks. We look at each other and smile. We love it when it's just Ford or Evan staying home with us.

"Don't get any ideas in your head," Adam says. "It's still a school night and you're going to bed when you're supposed to."

"Who's making us dinner?" I ask.

"They will," Hannah says.

They all get up and get ready to go.

"This will be perfect Guthrie," I whisper. "We can play the game all night! And we can come up with a plan for me going to Racetrack Road with you guys!"

"What time are you going to be back?" Guthrie asks Adam.

"Sometime after midnight."

Yes! Even better.

When they're all walking out the door Adam says one last thing to all four of us, "don't break anything while we're gone and follow all the rules. You got that?"

Guthrie and I smile and nod our heads, while Evan and Ford say, "ok dad!"

"And you two, be good!" He says looking at me and Guthrie. And then he adds, "I mean it!" Then he shuts the door.

We're all quiet for a while as I look out the window and watch the truck drive off.

"They're gone!" I yell.

Everyone yells yeah, and Evan says, "we're gonna have fun tonight!"


	12. Chapter 12

The first thing Evan does is turn the radio on as loud as it can go. Then he goes into the kitchen and gets a beer for him, and one for Ford. The good thing about staying home with Evan and Ford is they don't tell on us, and we don't tell on them.

"What do you guys want for dinner tonight?" Ford asks.

"Ice cream!" We yell.

Guthrie and I find the biggest bowls we can, and Ford brings the ice cream over to us. We fill our bowls with as much of it as will fit, and then we sit at the table to eat it.

"Ok, let's think of I plan," I say to Guthrie.

"It's not gonna work Heidi. There's no way you'll be able to go to Racetrack."

"Evan!" I yell. "Evan!" It's hard for him to hear me from the living room because the music is so loud. "Evan!" Both Guthrie and I yell.

"What!" He yells coming into the kitchen holding his beer.

"If I can find a way to get to Racetrack Road, will you take me home?"

"How are you gonna do that?" He laughs.

"I don't know yet. But if I did, then you guys wouldn't have to come home so early, because you know Adam and all of them are gonna stay out late."

"If you came up with a plan I'd say let's do it!" And then he kisses me on the top of my head.

"Yuck!" I yell.

"He's just acting like that because of the beer," Guthrie tells me.

"I know." And believe me, I know. It'll be a long time before Guthrie and I drink beer again. _If_ I ever drink it again.

Ford brings a bag of chips over to us to eat.

"See if there's any cookies too," Guthrie says.

"My stomach's starting to hurt," I say.

"You don't have to eat it all now," Ford says. "Save some for later."

I look at Ford and grab his hat and run out of the kitchen.

"Come on Guthrie!" I yell.

Ford chases me around and Guthrie and I play keep away with it. But Ford's taller than us so he gets it back quick. Then Evan takes Guthrie's hat and we try to get it back. We're all having fun running around and chasing each other around the house. When I'm tired I rest on the couch and look upstairs.

There are two wooden poles that come from the banister of the hallway upstairs and go all the way down to the living room floor. It's like they're attached to the banister in the hallway. Kind of like fireman poles. When my family gets together and we all sing and dance, sometimes my brothers slide down the poles. Well, not really slide, but kind of twirl around them and jump down to the living room. I've seen all my brothers go down them except for Guthrie. We're not allowed to yet. I even saw Hannah do it once. I go upstairs and stand where one of the the poles is.

"Evan! Catch me!" I yell as I start to climb over the banister.

"No, Heidi don't!" He yells. Evan and Ford push the coffee table next to the pole and then they stand on it.

"Ok, now come down," Evan says while they put their arms up to catch me in case I fall.

I slide down the pole and they help me down.

"I want to do that too!" Guthrie yells and races upstairs. They help him down too, and then we run up to do it again.

"Teach us how to twist down it like you do," Guthrie says.

They try to teach us how to do it, and we go down a lot more times until Ford says, "ok guys, I'm tired of doing this now." He gets down off the coffee table.

"Can I try it by myself? Without you helping at all?" I ask.

"Ok," Evan says, "but just once."

I race upstairs and I try to go down by myself but I can't.

"Ok," Evan says, "that's enough. Ford, get me another beer."

"Guthrie? Do you wanna go play that game now?" I ask.

"Ok."

"We're gonna go upstairs and play a game!" I yell into the kitchen.

* * *

We run into my room and I get the Ouija board out.

"How do you say that name?" Guthrie asks. "Oooja?"

"No, that doesn't sound right. I don't know how to say it." I open it up and show him the board and tell him how to play.

"Are you sure this works?" He asks.

"Yes! I saw it work at Susie's party."

"Where should we play it?" He asks.

"My room is too small. If we play in your room Evan and Ford might walk in, and they can't know about it. How about Adam and Hannah's room?"

"Ok, let's go."

I pick up the game and we go in their room and sit on the floor. I open the board and put the triangle piece in the middle.

"Put your fingers on the triangle like this." I show him how to do it. "I'm going to ask a question now." I wait for a minute and ask, "ghost of the little girl, what is your name?"

We wait for the triangle to move, but it doesn't.

"What's it supposed to do?" Guthrie asks.

"It's supposed to spell out its' name. Let's try again." We try asking three more times and nothing happens. "Maybe we should turn all the lights off except for one lamp. That's what Susie did."

We turn off all the lights except for the lamp by the bed. We try asking the question again, and still nothing happens.

"Maybe we should ask the ghost if it's here first," Guthrie says.

"Ok. Ghost of the little girl, are you here?" We wait. Still, nothing happens.

"Maybe that means she's not here. Let's try our mom and dad," he suggests.

"Ghosts of our mom and dad, are you here?" We wait and still nothing happens. "Why isn't this working!" I yell.

"I don't know. Maybe you're doing something wrong."

"Like what?" I ask.

"I don't know, think. Maybe there was something they did at the party that you're not doing now."

I think and then I remember, "there were _three_ people with their fingers on the triangle! We need another person!"

"We could ask Ford?" Guthrie suggests.

"I guess we have to ask Ford or Evan. Let's ask Ford first."

We open the door and look downstairs. The music is off now and Evan is talking on the phone.

"Ford, come here," I call down to him.

"Why?"

"I wanna show you a new game."

He comes upstairs and we go into Adam and Hannah's bedroom.

"Why are you playing it in here?" He asks.

"It doesn't matter," I say quickly. "Come look at this!"

He walks over and looks at the board. "What kind of game is that?"

"Sit down." We all sit and I explain the game to him.

"What!" He laughs. "Are you kidding me? You really think you can talk to ghosts with that?"

"Yes! We did it at Susie's party," I tell him. "But we need three people to play."

"Ok, show me. But there's no way this is going to work."

We put our fingers on the triangle and I ask, "ghost of the little girl, what is your name?"

We wait and nothing happens.

Ford laughs. "What's it supposed to do?"

"She's supposed to spell her name!" I'm getting mad. "This isn't working!"

Evan walks in and asks, "what are you guys doing in here?"

Ford tells him about the game and I tell him what happened at Susie's party and Evan laughs.

"You know if Adam finds this game, he's gonna be mad," Evan says.

"He won't find it. I have to take it back to Susie tomorrow, so it has to work tonight! Why won't it work!" I yell.

"Jeez! Calm down," Evan says. "Maybe it'll work downstairs. Let's go down there and turn out all the lights. Maybe that'll help."

We pick up the game and go downstairs.

"Let's put it on the coffee table," I say. "Maybe it'll work on that. Susie had it on a table at her party."

We put it down and Evan says, "turn off all the lights and I'll light a candle. Maybe it'll work then." I see him look at Ford and they're smiling at each other.

Evan gets a candle and puts it on the end table by the couch and lights it. Ford and Guthrie turn off all the lights.

"It's scary in here," I say.

"That's what you're scared of? The dark? You're trying to talk to a ghost!" Ford says.

"So explain to me how this works," Evan says. "I put my fingers here?" He puts them on the side of the triangle.

"Yes. And now I ask a question and the ghost answers us by moving the triangle."

"Ok, ask it a question," Evan says. Guthrie and I put our fingers on the triangle too.

"Ghost of the little girl," I say, "what is your name?"

Evan starts laughing.

"Stop laughing!" I yell. "You're ruining it!"

"Ok, ask again. I promise I won't laugh." He stops laughing and puts his fingers back on the triangle.

I start again. "Ghost of the little girl, what is your name?"

We wait a little bit and then the triangle starts to move!

"It's moving!" I yell.

Evan laughs again and says, "aren't you ruining it by yelling?" Ford laughs too.

"Right," I say. "I shouldn't yell. Let's try again. Ghost of the little girl, what is your name?"

We wait and the triangle moves again. It moves to the letter m. Then it moves to the letter o. Then it moves to L, and then it moves away from the L and goes back to it! Then it goes to the letter y and then it moves to the center of the board and stops.

"What did it spell?" I ask.

Ford and Evan laugh, and Ford says, "how can you play if you can't keep track of the letters, Heidi?"

"But you know," I say. "Tell me, what did it spell!"

"It spelled Molly," Guthrie says.

"Her name is Molly? Wow! Let's ask her another question." We get the triangle ready again. "How old are you, Molly?"

The triangle spells the number ten!

"That's how old I am!"

"Wow, we're really talking to a ghost!" Guthrie says. He sounds excited.

"Let's ask her if she's buried in the back yard!" I yell.

"Ok, calm down!" Evan says.

I ask the question and she says yes! "I knew it!"

"Yeah, and Adam told us there were no bodies buried on the ranch!" Guthrie says. "I knew he was wrong!"

"Let's ask her more questions! Let's ask if she was murdered!" I say.

"Yeah, and if her family's buried outside with her!" Guthrie says.

Ford and Evan laugh. "Just ask one question at a time," Evan says.

We ask, and she was murdered and her family is buried with her!

"What time is it?" Evan asks Ford.

"11:30"

"We better get the house cleaned up now," Evan says. "You guys get ready for bed, and we'll clean up the kitchen."

"And then we can ask more questions?" I ask.

"Until we hear the truck drive up," Ford says.

Ford turns on some lights and they clean up the beer cans and our ice cream bowls while we get ready for bed.

We quickly get dressed and brush our teeth and wait for Evan and Ford by the game.

"I can't wait to ask Molly more questions!" I say.

"How about just a few more questions for her, and then let's talk to our mom and dad," Guthrie says.

"Ok!"

Ford and Evan turn the lights back off and come sit by us.

"You guys are already to jump in bed, right?" Evan asks.

"Yes!" We both say.

"I wanna ask if she was killed with a knife," I tell Evan.

I ask and she says no. "How about an axe!"

"She says yes!" Guthrie yells. "Ok, let's ask our mom and dad questions now!" Guthrie says.

"What?" Evan asks. He looks at Ford.

"Our mom and dad are ghosts and they live in the house with us," I say.

"No they don't," Ford says.

"Yes they do!" I yell.

"Let's ask them and see," Guthrie says.

"No!" Evan yells. "We're not playing anymore!"

"Why?" I ask. "We can only play now. I have to give the game back tomorrow."

"You're not going to talk to our mom and dad. They're not here and I don't want to play anymore!" Evan yells.

"You don't know if they're here unless you ask!" Guthrie yells.

"You guys shouldn't be playing this game," Ford says.

"Why not? You played! We'll just play by ourselves, then!" I yell.

"Yeah!" Guthrie yells.

"No! It's just a stupid game!" Evan yells. "It doesn't even work! I've been moving the triangle the whole time!"

I look at him. "What?"

"I've been moving it. All the questions you asked, I answered them. There is no Molly. I just made her up."

"It's true," Ford says.

"No it's not! Give me back the triangle!" I yell. I jump up and try to get the triangle out of his hand, but he throws it to Ford.

"Give it to us!" Guthrie yells and he tries to grab it from Ford.

Ford holds it up high and says, "calm down." But we tackle him for it and he throws it back to Evan.

We try to get it from Evan and Ford yells, "throw it to me!"

Evan throws it hard, but it doesn't go anywhere near Ford. We hear it hit the wood burning stove. It's so dark over by the stove none of us can see it. We all race over there and get down on our hands and knees and feel around for it. I find it first, but when I grab it something hurts my hand really bad.

"Ow!" I scream and start crying.

"What happened?" Guthrie asks.

"Ford turn the lights on," Evan says. "Heidi, what's wrong?"

When the lights go on I look at my finger and it's bleeding. I look at the triangle and see the glass circle is broken. There's no glass in the circle, just broken pieces around the edge. "You broke it!" I cry. "You broke Susie's game!"


	13. Chapter 13

"You broke it!" I cry again.

"Let me see," Ford says. I show him my finger and the triangle.

Evan comes over to look. "Ford, you clean up Heidi's finger, and Guthrie, you help me clean up the glass. It's after midnight so they could be home any minute now. So hurry up!"

"Come on Heidi, let's go into the kitchen," Ford says.

I cry the whole way there.

"It hurts," I cry. I hold up my finger for him to see.

"I know. I'll fix it. I have to make sure there's no glass in your cut. Come sit on top of the table and hold it up."

Ford picks me up and puts me on top of the table so I'm sitting on the edge.

Evan and Guthrie run into the kitchen and Guthrie yells, "did you put a band aid on it? We cleaned up all the glass."

"It hurts," I cry. "I wish Hannah was here!"

Ford gets a paper towel and presses on the cut.

"Ow! That hurts!"

"Hurry up Ford!" Evan says.

"I'm trying! But I don't know if there's any glass in it. Go get me a band-aid!"

Evan runs out of the kitchen to get a band-aid from the bathroom upstairs.

"Why won't it stop bleeding?" Guthrie asks.

"I don't know. We'll just put a band-aid on it and maybe that will help stop it."

"Here," Evan runs in and hands him a band-aid. "Guthrie go be the lookout. I don't know when they're coming home."

Ford puts the band-aid on.

"It won't stop hurting!" I yell. I've had worse cuts before and usually I don't cry, but this one hurts really bad.

"The band-aid's not working!" Ford yells. "Get me a rag or something so we can hold it on the cut to get it to stop bleeding." He takes the band-aid off and throws it on the table.

Evan brings a rag to Ford and when Ford looks at it he yells, "get me a clean one Evan!"

Evan rushes over to the sink and starts searching for a clean rag. When he finds one he brings it to Ford and Ford holds it on my cut, but it hurts bad! "Ow!" I scream and I cry loud.

"I don't know what to do!" Ford says.

"Why don't you guys know what to do?" I yell.

Evan puts his hands on my cheeks and moves my face so I'm looking right at him, and he looks into my eyes. "Ok. Sh! Heidi, stop crying. Stop crying!"

I break my face away from his hands and yell, "I can't! It hurts! And you broke Susie's game!"

"I'm sorry," he says, "but just be quiet now. We're trying to stop the bleeding."

Ford presses on the cut again with the rag and I scream.

"There's something in it that hurts!" I yell. "I can feel it!"

"Ok, Heidi." Ford looks at Evan. "Evan, I don't know what to do. There's probably glass stuck in it. Go get some tweezers!"

Evan runs out and I can hear him running upstairs to the bathroom.

I hold my finger up while Ford keeps wiping the blood that trickles down my finger and down my arm.

"Here!" Evan says, running back in and handing the tweezers to Ford.

"I'm not gonna do it!" Ford yells. "You do it! I'll keep wiping up the blood."

Evan looks at my finger and brings the tweezers towards it. I move my finger out of the way.

"Hold still, Heidi!" Evan yells.

"No! Get that thing away from me!"

"Ok. I'll stop," he says. "Heidi, if you won't let us get the glass out we have to wait until Hannah comes home so she can get it out."

I keep crying and nod my head. "It hurts!"

"I know," Ford says.

Evan is pacing. "Since we have to wait for them to come home we have to think of a story to explain why your finger is cut. What if we pretended you dropped a glass?"

I shake my head no.

"Why not? You don't want to get in trouble, do you?" Evan asks.

"Come on Heidi, just say you broke a glass. Please?" Ford says.

"I don't want to! You broke the game!"

"I know, but we'll get in trouble. You're not supposed to tell them about the game remember?" Evan says.

I cry but I'm thinking about that.

"Come on, you want to go trick-or-treating don't you?" Evan says. "If Adam finds out what we were doing he'll take that away."

I cry harder because I know that he really can take trick-or-treating away now. "Ok." I say.

"When they come in, we'll just tell them you came downstairs to get a drink, and you dropped the glass. You cut yourself when you tried to clean it up. Ok?" Evan says.

I nod my head. "But what about Susie's game?"

"I don't know. We'll think about that tomorrow," Evan says.

"But I have to give it back to her tomorrow."

Guthrie runs into the kitchen and yells, "they're back!"

Ford yells, "go get in bed Guthrie, quick!"

Guthrie runs upstairs and pretty soon we can hear the front door open. They all sound happy coming inside because they're laughing. But it doesn't take long before they see us in the kitchen.

"What happened?" Hannah asks, rushing over to me.

"I cut my finger and it hurts," I cry.

"We tried to get it to stop bleeding but it won't. Every time we press the rag on it she says it hurts like there's something in it," Ford tells her.

"Run upstairs and get my first aide kit Ford." Hannah tells him. Then she holds my finger. "Let me look at this. What'd you cut it on?"

"Glass." I cry. I can hear Evan talking to everyone else in the living room. I can hear a little bit of what they're saying.

"Yes, he's in bed," Evan says. "Heidi was in bed, but she came down to get a drink. She dropped the glass and cut her finger trying to clean it up."

"Why don't you and Ford go to bed." Adam says. "We'll finish up here. It's a school day tomorrow. Did everything else go ok?" Adam asks.

"Yep." He say.

Ford brings Hannah her kit and then leaves. I can hear Ford and Evan talking to Daniel about his band and Adam, Brian and Crane walk into the kitchen to watch Hannah.

"Yep, you've definitely got some glass in there," Hannah says and I cry. "But don't worry," she smiles at me, "I can get it out."

Crane sits up on the table next to me. "Ouch!" He says. "That looks like it hurts."

Hannah tells me to hold his hand while she uses her special tweezers to get the glass out.

"Squeeze my hand hard," he says.

She picks at my cut and I scream and cry and squeeze his hand really hard.

"Got it all," she says. Then she presses on the cut and asks "do you feel anything in there?"

"No, but it hurts."

"I know," she says. "I'm sorry." Then she hands Crane the rag. "Crane, why don't you hold this to stop the bleeding while I get a band-aid ready."

Crane puts his arm around me and holds the rag on the cut. I watch Hannah get the bottle of cleaning stuff out that she puts on cuts, and I know it stings.

"No! Don't put any of that on! Please don't!" I cry.

"You know I have to," she says.

I try to move my finger away from her but Crane holds it still. She puts it on my cut and it stings, and I cry. Then she puts a big band-aid on it.

"There. Better?" She asks smiling at me. I nod my head and she kisses the top of it. "Now tell me where you dropped the glass so I can make sure it's all cleaned up."

I stare at her. I don't know what to say. I guess I should say over by the sink. That's where I dropped it a few nights ago. "By the sink," I say.

She walks over and looks around.

"Evan and Ford cleaned it up already," I tell her.

"Well, it looks like they did a good job. I don't see any glass anywhere."

I nod my head.

"What did you guys have for dinner?" She asks walking back over.

I stare at her because I don't know what to say. I don't know what Evan and Ford already said we had. Usually Guthrie and I jump into bed when they come home, and we listen from our bedrooms to hear what Ford or Evan tells them.

"What did you guys have for dinner?" She asks again.

"Spaghetti." I tell her. But I look around at my brothers because I'm not sure if that's the right answer. "Can I go to bed now?" I ask.

Crane laughs. "You're asking to go to bed?"

"I'm really tired," I say and I yawn real big.

"No, you can't go to bed until I make sure your cut is done bleeding," Hannah says as she takes the bloody rag over to the sink. "Adam, why don't you start making some coffee."

Adam walks over to the stove and Crane whispers, "what'd you really have for dinner?"

I smile up at him. "Ice cream!" I whisper.

"What are you whispering about?" Brian whispers sitting down on the other side of me.

I smile up at him too and whisper, "I had ice cream for dinner."

"And how many beers did Evan and Ford drink," he whispers back.

I look at him and he smiles.

"We know what goes on when we're not home," he whispers.

I smile. "You do?" I ask, and he nods. "Does Adam know?" I ask.

"Sometimes. Not always everything though."

I whisper, "they each had at least two beers." Then I giggle and say, "you smell like beer."

Brian and Crane laugh. Hannah walks over to check on my cut. "What are you all whispering about over here?"

"Nothing," I say laughing.

"What did you guys do tonight?" She asks.

"We played a game." Oops, I shouldn't have said that!

"What game?" She asks.

I stare at her.

"What's the matter? Why aren't you answering me?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Poker," I say.

"Who won?" Brian asks.

They're starting to ask too many questions! My brain can't lie this fast.

"Um, Evan."

"That's funny, Evan didn't say you guys played poker," Adam says. "What did you guys do?"

I stare at him.

"What?" He asks again.

I don't know what to say now so I slowly ask, "what did Evan say we played?"

Brian and Crane groan. That must've been the wrong answer. I look at them and they smile and shake their heads. Then they stand up and they both say goodnight and give me a kiss before leaving.

"Can I go to bed now Hannah? I think the cut stopped bleeding."

"No, I think you should stay up a little longer and tell me what you did tonight," Adam says.

"Ok. First we ate dinner, then we listened to music, then we played a game, and after all that, we went to bed. That's the truth."

"Sounds like fun," Hannah says. "What game did you play?"

I don't know what to say. Evan told Adam something and I don't know what it is! All I can do is stare at her.

"Heidi," Adam says, so I look over at him. "Do you remember the other day when I told you and Guthrie that when you don't answer a question it usually means you're doing something wrong?"

I nod my head.

"Well, it seems like this is one of those times. What game did you play?"

"It's a new game. I don't know how to pronounce it. I think it's a French game."

"Is this the game you brought home from Susie's party?" Hannah asks. I nod. "Maybe I know how to pronounce it."

"I don't think you do."

"Why?" Adam asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "I just don't think she can. It's a hard word."

"How do you play it?" Hannah asks.

I stare at her again. I don't know what to say. But they're both staring at me so I say, "you roll a dice and move your marker around the board and try to get the most money."

Adam crosses his arms over his chest. "It sounds like you just made that up. What'd you really do while we were gone?"

I start to cry. "I told you, we played a game. We really just played a game."

"Why are you crying?" Hannah asks.

"Because you don't believe me!"

"Why don't you just go get the game and show it to us," Hannah says.

No! I can't do that! I just stare at them instead.

"Go get the game Heidi," Adam says.

I just sit there and stare at them.

"Remember our little talk we had today about me telling you to do something, and you go do it?" He asks. I nod my head. "Well, this is one of those times."

"But I really don't want to," I cry. "Please don't make me. Can't I just show you tomorrow?"

"What's so bad about the game that you don't want to show us?" Hannah asks.

I shrug my shoulders.

"Go get it now!" Adam yells.

"I can't!" I cry. "I don't know where Evan put it!"

"Well let's find out!" Adam yells.

"Why are you getting so mad?" I yell. "It's just a game. Please don't get it! Susie's mom doesn't know about it! I'm not supposed to tell you about it either!"

"Now I really want to see it!" Adam yells. "Evan! Ford!"

Hannah and I follow Adam into the living room.

"What's going on?" Brian asks from the couch. Him and Crane are both in there laying on the couches.

Evan and Ford come out of their room. They look at me and I start to cry.

"Bring me the game you guys were playing tonight!" Adam yells.

"No! Don't get it!" I yell up to them. "Please don't get it!"

Adam looks at me and says, "be quiet! They're getting it!"

"Jeez! It's just a game Adam!" Evan yells back. He goes into my room and brings it out and holds it up for them to see.

"Don't just stand there! Bring it down here!"

Evan and Ford come downstairs and hand it to Adam. He looks at it and I can tell he doesn't know what it is.

"Can we go back to bed now? We've got school tomorrow, remember?" They say. "It's not even our game."

Adam waves them away and they go back upstairs. He sets the game down on the coffee table and I sit on the floor next to it while Crane and Brian make room for Hannah and Adam on the couch. Adam opens the game up and lays the board on the table. Brian, Crane, Adam and Hannah all look at it. I can tell they don't know what it is.

Adam looks at me and says, "what is this?"

"A game."

He sighs. "I know that. How do you play?"

I stare at him.

"Answer me!"

I shake my head no, and start crying.

"Calm down Adam," Hannah says. "Heidi, why don't you want to tell us how to play?"

"Because you'll be mad at me," I cry.

Crane looks at the box and takes the triangle out. He looks at it and puts it on the board and says slowly, "I know what this is. I've seen it before." He looks at it more carefully. "I've seen it at college! It's a Ouija board, isn't it Heidi?" He asks.

I nod.

"What's that?" Adam asks him.

"Something you shouldn't be playing with Heidi! Where'd you get it?"

Hannah says, "she got it at her friend's party."

"What is it Crane?" Adam asks.

"Some people think you can talk to spirits with it."

"What! What kind of game is that!" Adam yells. He looks at me and he looks mad! "Show us how to play it!"

I cry. "I don't want to."

"You put this triangle on the board," Crane says, "and then you ask a question I think."

"What kind of question?" Adam asks.

"Something you want the spirit to answer," Crane says. "It's really something you shouldn't play with. Some people think it really works and you _can_ talk to spirits or ghosts, and some people just have fun with it and try to trick people with it."

"Why do you have this?" Adam asks me.

I don't answer.

"What were you doing with it?" He asks. "You're going to answer me."

"No, I don't want to! You'll be mad," I cry.

"I'm already mad!" He yells.

Hannah rubs my back and says, "Heidi, what were you doing with this?"

"Talking to ghosts."

"What ghosts!" Adam yells.

"The little girl buried in the backyard!" I cry and cover my face with my hands.

"Oh that's just great!" He yells. "You're talking to the little girl buried in the back yard!"

"Did she answer you?" Brian asks.

"Brian!" Adam yells.

"Yes!" I cry.

"What are you talking about. How did she talk to you?" Adam asks.

"You put your fingers on the triangle like this," I show him. "Then you ask a question like what's your name and the ghost moves the triangle to spell her name."

"What? Show me."

"Other people have to put their fingers on the triangle too."

Brian and Crane put their fingers on the triangle.

"Now what?" Adam asks.

"Now I ask the ghost a question."

"Do it."

"Ghost, what is your name?" I ask.

We watch the board and nothing happens.

"Why isn't it moving?" Adam asks.

"Maybe the ghost is asleep," Brian says while laughing a little.

"Dammit Brian! Shut up!"

I look up at Adam. "It didn't work here like it did at the party. It didn't work with just me and Guthrie so we got Ford to help us, but it didn't work with him either. It only works with Evan."

Crane and Brian laugh.

"Evan, huh? It only works with Evan?" Adam asks.

I nod my head. "Molly was answering all our questions."

"Who's Molly?" Hannah asks.

"Let me guess," Adam says, "she's the little girl buried in the backyard."

I nod my head.

"You know she's not real right?" Adam says. "You know Evan was just trying to trick you, don't you?"

I stare at him.

Adam sighs. "You believe it don't you?"

I nod.

"Why is there little pieces of broken glass in the middle of this circle?" Crane asks holding up the triangle.

"Is that what you cut your finger on?" Hannah asks.

I just stare at her.

Adam looks kind of tired when he asks me, "you didn't drop a glass and break it, did you?"

"No. Evan got mad and wouldn't let me and Guthrie play anymore. So him and Ford played keep away with the triangle. Evan threw it against the stove and broke. I cut my finger when I picked it up."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Brian says laughing.

"Brian! Why don't you just go to bed!" Adam yells.

Brian leans back on the couch and covers his face with his cowboy hat. "I can't," he says. "You're in my bedroom."

"Then keep your comments to yourself!" Adam yells. "Why did Evan get mad, Heidi?"

I shrug my shoulders. "He just got mad because Guthrie and I wanted to talk to the ghosts of mom and dad, and not Molly anymore."

Everyone is quiet and staring at me now. Even Brian.

"What?" I ask. "Guthrie wanted to ask them what heaven was like, and I thought maybe I could ask them how you could raise me." I look at Adam when I say that part.

Everyone is still really quiet but they're looking at each other now and they all look a little sad.

"What?" I ask.

"It's late," Hannah says. "Why don't we all go to bed and talk about this tomorrow."

We all get up and Adam puts the game back in the box and says, "I'm taking this to Susie's house tomorrow."

"No! You can't do that! Her mom doesn't know about it! Susie will get in trouble and then she'll be mad at me!"

"Her mom needs to know about this. You kids shouldn't be playing with this kind of stuff," he says.

"But it's broken!" I cry. "You can't give it back when it's broken! We have to fix it first!"

Hannah hugs me. "Sh, it'll be ok."

I break away from her. "No it won't! Give it back!" I reach for it and try to grab it out of Adam's hands but I can't. He just holds it up above my head and walks over to the bookcase and sets the game on top of it.

"I'm gonna climb up there and get it when you're asleep!" I yell at him.

I can hear Brian laugh a tiny bit.

Adam looks at me and his eyes look serious. "Heidi," he says, "I'm going to ignore what you just said, because I know you're tired, but this is when you need to be quiet and go to bed."

"Come on," Hannah says leading me to the stairs. "Let's go to bed now."

I walk with her up the stairs and to my room.

"Hannah, what am I going to do? Susie's going to be so mad! She's going to hate me forever!" I say while getting into bed.

"She might be mad for a while," she says kissing me goodnight. "It's late, you need to go to sleep now, ok?"

I nod, she leaves, and then I start to think about Molly.

* * *

I sit up. What if Evan wasn't tricking us? What if Molly's ghost is real and she tricked Evan into thinking he was tricking us! I bet she _made_ him move the triangle. She is a real ghost! But, is she a good ghost, or a bad ghost? I think about that for a minute. If she was tricking Evan, then she's a bad ghost. Oh no! Is she in our house because she wants to hurt us? What if she wants to kill us? What if she wants to kill us with an axe! I get up and run to my doorway.

The lights are all off downstairs and it's dark down there. Adam and Hannah must still be up because I can see the light shining through the crack underneath the door. I look down to the other end of the hallway and I'm scared. It's darker down there. What if Molly is hiding there waiting for everyone to go to sleep? I know she's there. She can probably see me. I'm so scared I don't know if I can move. I hear a little tapping noise coming from the end of the hallway. That's it! I'm not standing here anymore! I run to Adam and Hannah's bedroom and throw their door open so it bangs against the wall.

"Molly's gonna kill us with an axe!" I yell jumping on their bed. "She's gonna kill us with an axe!"

Neither one of them are in bed yet. Hannah doesn't even have her pajamas on yet and she's over by the closet putting her first aid kit away. Adam's standing in front of his dresser, but they both look at me when I come in.

Adam groans and says, "I'm gonna kill Evan in the morning."

I look at him. I feel even scarder now. "What?" I ask backing up on the bed closer to the headboard.

"I said, I'm gonna kill...," and he stops and looks at me. "No! Don't even go there! You know I'm not really gonna kill him!"

I stare at him and my eyes start watering. "What if she makes you?" I ask quietly.

"What if _who_ makes me?" He asks. "Never mind, don't answer that, I don't want to know."

Hannah comes and sits on the bed with me.

I look at her. "What if she makes Adam kill you too?"

Adam sits on the bed too. "This is why I don't want you thinking about ghosts. It puts crazy ideas in your head. You need to stop now." Adam says.

He puts his hands on my cheeks and lifts my face up so we can look at each other. I look away with my eyes.

"Look at me," he says softly. "Stop thinking about this stuff. That's what makes you scared. Think about something else. Ok?" I nod my head and he takes his hands off my cheeks and goes back to his dresser.

"Heidi, you're really tired. Get in our bed and lay down," Hannah says.

I move so Hannah can pull the covers out from under me, and I lay back on the bed until I'm laying down and she puts the covers over me. "Now close your eyes and think about something happy. Why don't you think about Lucy. Pretend you're riding her somewhere."

I sit up really fast. "Is Lucy ok out in the barn?" I ask.

"Yes," she says. "Now lay back down and think about her."

I think about riding her to the river.

"Close your eyes," Hannah says softly.

I close them and think about riding Lucy to the river, and I go to sleep.

* * *

When I wake up in the morning I'm in my own bed. It looks dark outside but my clock says 7:00. I stand up on my bed to look out the small window in my room. I see rain clouds. Dark rain clouds. I hope it doesn't rain today, because I hate rainy day recesses at school. But then I remember Susie's game is downstairs so I jump off my bed and race down to the bookcase. The game is gone. I sit on the couch and cry quietly while I listen to Adam yell at Ford and Evan in the kitchen.

"I didn't think about that!" Evan yells. "How was I supposed to know it would scare her?"

"That's the problem! You didn't think! That's why I don't like you and Ford drinking beer when I'm gone. You don't think!"

I wipe my eyes and walk into the kitchen. The game is laying on the table next to where Adam is sitting.

"I have to finish getting ready for school!" Evan yells and both him and Ford leave.

Adam gets up from the table and walks over to the stove to get more coffee. Hannah is over there making pancakes and she hugs him and they talk to each other. But I'm not listening because I'm thinking. Adam has his back to me, and I can get the game!

I quietly walk to the table and slowly slide the game off of it. I look at them and now they're kissing each other. I turn around and quietly start to walk out of the kitchen, but Adam yells, "hold it!"

I turn back around and hold the game behind my back as best as I can so it doesn't fall out of the box, and look at him.

"Where do you think you're going with that?" He asks. I think it's one of those questions I'm not supposed to answer because he doesn't give me time to answer. "Put it back down on the table and go get dressed," he says.

I put the game back on the kitchen table and run out of the kitchen and upstairs to my bedroom. I can't believe he's going to take it to Susie's mom. Susie and Amy are gonna hate me even more now. And it's broken! And I'm gonna have to stay away from them today because they're gonna want to know why I didn't bring it back. This is going to be the worst day ever!

* * *

"Heidi! Guthrie! Breakfast!" Hannah yells up to us from downstairs. "Let's go!"

I open my door and run downstairs to the kitchen just as Adam is walking out of it. I stop running and look at him.

"Please can I have the game back?" I ask.

"No."

"But Susie's going to be mad at me if I don't give it to her at school today!"

He sighs. "I don't have time for this. I'm not giving you the game."

"I have to have it! Pleeeeeeeese!" I cry.

"I'm warning you! I don't have time for this!" He yells.

"But you can't give it back yet! It's broken!" I cry.

"I'm taking it back and the four of you are going to have to find a way to buy a new one. Now stop whining or you're grounded for a whole week. That includes trick-or-treating."

"No! I don't want you to do that! You can't...," I stop talking and look at him.

"I can't what?" He asks glaring at me.

"Nothing!" I yell glaring at him.

"Come on Heidi!" Guthrie yells. "Here's your lunch! We're gonna be late if we don't run!"

I take my lunch and look at Adam and yell, "I hate you!"

"We're going to talk about this later," he says.

I run to catch up with Guthrie. It's dark out and cold and I start to feel raindrops. I forgot my jacket!

"Guthrie!" I yell.

He stops running and turns around. "Hurry up!" He yells.

"I forgot my jacket! I'm cold!"

He takes his off and throws it to me. "Give it back when we get on the bus."

I put it on and run to catch up. I wish I didn't tell Adam I hate him. I feel really bad about that. I wonder if this day will get any better.

* * *

I hate school today. I'm trying to stay as far away from Susie as I can. It's really hard to do because all our recesses are inside today. It's been raining off and on all day. I told Denise what happened with the game.

"Do you think the game is real?" I ask her. "Evan said he was moving the triangle."

"No. I think Susie and Amy were moving the triangle the whole time. Why else wouldn't they let other people touch it."

I didn't think about that. "Oh," I say. "I guess you're right. Why would they do that?"

"Just to scare us and trick us," Denise says. "I don't really like Susie and Amy a whole lot. They're kind of mean sometimes."

"I think you're right," I say. "But it doesn't matter any more, because Susie's gonna hate me after she finds out I broke the game and Adam told her mom. She's never gonna talk to me again! And that means Amy won't either!"

Denise smiles at me. "That could be a good thing," she says.

I laugh about that. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

The bell rings telling us recess is over and our teacher tells us to put everything away. I hate having to stay inside all day. I can't wait to go outside when school is over, even without a jacket.

* * *

"Where does everyone go trick-or-treating?" Denise asks me as we walk out of the classroom. School is over and we walk together until I have to walk towards the bus, and she walks to her car. "There's not that many houses where I live."

"Everyone goes to Angels Camp or Sonora. The best place to go is Racetrack Road in Sonora. It has the best candy and a big haunted house you can walk through."

"That sounds like fun," she says, but she sounds sad. "Heidi, I used to go trick-or-treating with my friends in my old town."

"I always went trick-or-treating with Guthrie," I say sadly. "This year he's going with a friend."

We stop walking when Denise says, "hey, what if we went together? Do you want to go trick-or-treating with me?" She asks. She sounds happy now.

"Yeah! That would be fun! Then we wouldn't be by ourselves."

"We could go to Racetrack Road," she says. "I bet my mom and dad could drive us."

And then I think for a minute and I smile really big. I have the perfect plan!

"Ok. Your parents could take us. Then I could meet up with my brothers and they can take me home."

"Why can't we take you home?"

"Everyone else is going to the big Halloween party in town. If your mom took me home no one would be home at my house. I'm not allowed to stay home by myself."

"I'm not either," she says. "What if you spent the night at my house?"

"I'm not allowed to do that on a school night."

"Oh, right. I'm not allowed to do that either."

"But, if I met my brothers then I could just stay with them and go home when they do. Then I won't be home alone."

"Ok! Let's do it!" She says.

"Ok," I say. "I'll see you tomorrow!" I yell as she runs to her mom's car.

"Ok, I'll have my mom call your house and plan it with your brother or Hannah." She yells back.

"No wait!" I yell. "Denise! Don't do that!" She can't hear me because she's already in her mom's car. I didn't think about her mom calling Hannah or Adam. This was the worst plan ever!

I look over at the buses and watch my bus start to pull away. I run to try to catch up, but I can't. No this can't be happening! I'm not supposed to walk home by myself. Well, I guess I don't have a choice now. I start to walk home and it starts to rain.


	14. Chapter 14

I've been walking for a while now. It's raining hard, and the clouds are really dark, so that makes it look dark outside. All the cars that pass me have their lights on. The side of the road is a bunch of mud puddles, and my feet are soaking wet, and so is the rest of me. I wish I had my jacket. I'm cold and wet and all I want to do is sit down and cry, but I can't. So I walk and cry instead.

I watch each car as it passes by to see if it's the jeep or the truck. As they pass by water sprays up from the tires and gets me wet. The car coming now seems like it's driving faster than the others, because the head lights are coming up on me really fast. I try to move over to the side of the road, but this section of the road has big bushes on it. There's nowhere for me to go but stay on the road. The lights are bright and close. I think about running to the other side of the road but there isn't enough time. I hear tires screeching and I put my hands up to cover my eyes from the bright headlights, as the car comes to a stop right in front of me. I uncover my eyes and see our truck and I hear Brian yelling.

"You could've been killed!" He yells, running up to me.

He kneels down and shakes me and I look at him and cry.

"What are you doing out here!" He yells, but doesn't wait for an answer. "Look at you! You're soaked and you're shivering! You don't even have a jacket on!" He keeps shaking me.

All I can do is look at him and cry. I'm so cold and it feels like I'm shaking so much I can't open my mouth to talk.

"Come on!" He leads me to the truck quickly, and opens the side door and helps me get inside. Then he runs to the driver's side and gets in.

"Why'd you miss the bus?" He asks while he starts driving home.

I don't feel like talking.

"You're supposed to go to the office and call home when you miss the bus and Guthrie's not with you. You're supposed to wait in the office, remember?"

I forgot about that. Not only am I gonna be in trouble for my dumb plan, I'm gonna be in trouble for not calling home.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

I stare straight ahead and don't answer.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Look at me."

I look at him.

"Why are you crying? Did you get in trouble at school?" I shake my head. "Is somebody bothering you at school?" I shake my head again. "Well, you don't have to talk. I don't mind. Sometimes I don't feel like talking too." He's quiet then and we drive home in silence the rest of the way.

* * *

When we pull up to the house I get out of the truck really fast and run into the house. No one's in the living room, but I can hear people in the kitchen. I kick my shoes off as fast as I can and almost run into Brian when he opens the door and walks in. He starts to take his jacket off and I run up the stairs fast. My socks are soaking wet so I slip and fall down a few steps. I hit my knees and chin on the steps and it hurts, but I get up fast and run to my room. I close the door behind me and sit on the floor and cry.

* * *

I haven't been sitting here long when I hear a small knock on my door. I get up quickly and open the door a crack. It's Hannah.

"Open the door and let me in," she says.

I shake my head and close my door.

"Heidi, open the door," she says again, so I open it.

I stand in front of my door and look at her.

"You're soaking wet! Put some dry clothes on."

I'm too cold to move and I can't stop shaking. She walks over to my dresser and opens a drawer and looks through my clothes. She puts my thermal pajamas on my bed and says, "here, put these on."

I look at the pajamas and start taking my wet clothes off but it's too hard because I'm shaking so much.

"Let me help you," she says. She starts pulling my shirt up over my head. "What happened? Why'd you miss the bus? Brian said you didn't have a jacket, what happened to it?"

I can't talk because I'm so cold and it's too many questions. My teeth are chattering. When I have my pajamas on Hannah hugs me and I lean on her and cry.

"Let's get you downstairs in front of the fire." We walk downstairs together, and I sit in front of the stove, and she wraps a blanket around me. "I'll go get you some hot chocolate."

When she leaves Guthrie comes over and sits next to me.

"Why'd you miss the bus?" He whispers. "Did you get in trouble at school?"

I shake my head no. "But, I'm gonna be in trouble," I whisper back. "Did Denise's mom call?"

"No, nobody's called. Why? What happened?"

"I can't tell you down here," I whisper as Hannah walks over.

"Here's your hot chocolate," she says, handing me the cup. It feels warm in my hands. She sits on the couch near me. "How are you feeling?" She asks.

All I can do is cry.

"What's wrong?" She asks. She sits down next to me on the floor and hugs me.

I can't answer.

I look over at the front door when it opens and Crane and Adam walk in.

"How'd it go?" Hannah asks them.

"I think we got them all penned up for the night," Adam says.

They must be talking about the cows. They take their jackets off and hang them by the front door.

"Good," Brian says coming in from the kitchen. "I think it's gonna be a long, wet night."

"What happened to you?" Crane asks when he sees me. He laughs and says, "you look like a wet rat!"

That makes me cry.

"Sorry," he says quietly. "What happened?"

"She missed the bus," Brian says. "I found her walking in the middle of the road. I almost hit her too!"

"What?" I look over at Adam and he looks disappointed. "Come on Heidi, we've been over this before, you can't walk home by yourself, especially in weather like this." Then he starts yelling. "And what the heck are you doing walking in the middle of the road? You know better than that! You have to call home! Do you understand that?"

I nod.

"Why didn't you call home and wait in the office like I told you? And why'd you miss the bus? Don't tell me you got in trouble at school, because I'm getting really tired of that!"

I keep looking at him and I start to cry because he's mad and he doesn't even know the bad part yet.

"Adam, why don't you go into the kitchen and I'll get you some coffee," Hannah says to him. "She's wet and cold and she needs to dry off. Why don't you talk to her later."

Hannah gets up and they all follow her into the kitchen.

"What'd she tell you?" I hear Adam ask Brian. "Why'd she miss the bus?"

"She's not talking," Brian says.

I look at Guthrie and say, "let's go upstairs and I'll tell you what happened."

We get up and go upstairs to my room.

* * *

"Why'd you miss the bus?" Guthrie asks me after I close my door.

"I was talking to Denise and I missed it."

"That's it?" He asks.

I nod. "Missing the bus isn't the bad part. I came up with a plan for Halloween, Guthrie. I thought it was a great plan, but it turns out it was the worst plan ever!" I start crying. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble that I probably won't get to go trick-or-treating!"

"What'd you do!" Guthrie asks.

I cry harder.

"Ok, stop crying and tell me about it. Maybe we can fix it."

"We can't! It's too bad!"

"Stop crying and tell me!" He yells. "We're good at making plans! We can fix this!"

I stop crying and wipe my cheeks. I tell him about the plan I thought up with Denise.

"It was the perfect plan! Her parents would drive us to Racetrack Road and we'd go trick-or-treating together, and then I would've met up with you and Kenny afterwards. I had it all planned out perfectly, until Denise ran off to her car and said her mom would call Hannah or Adam to set it up!"

"Oh no!"

"See! I told you it was bad!" I start crying again.

"Stop!" He yells at me and shakes me. "Think! We can do this."

I stop crying and we both sit here on the floor and think.

"I got it!" He yells. "When Denise's mom calls we'll let Evan pretend he's Adam! Then she can plan it with him and you'll get to go to Racetrack Road!"

"Do you think he'll do it?" I ask.

"He said last night, if you came up with a plan he'd do it."

"Is he in his room?"

"No, they're not home yet."

"What if she calls before he gets home?"

"We'll just have to do the phone trick until he comes home and we ask him." He smiles at me and then he jumps up and says, "quick! We've got to go downstairs and sit by the phone."

We run out of my room and race down the stairs. Guthrie sits at the desk where the phone is while I go sit back down on the floor next to the stove.

I hope this works because if it doesn't I'm in trouble. I wish Evan would come home soon. I hope he wants to do the plan. I jump when the phone rings and look at Guthrie.

"I'll get it!" He yells. He picks up the phone and then hangs it up.

"Who is it?" Adam asks from the kitchen.

"No one!" Guthrie yells back. We look at each other and I hope the phone doesn't ring again. But it does.

"I'll get it!" Guthrie yells again. He picks the phone up and hangs it up again.

"Who is it Guthrie?" Adam asks again from the kitchen.

"Nobody was there."

Adam walks in and looks at Guthrie. "Why are you sitting there waiting by the phone?" He asks.

"I'm not. I'm just sitting here because I want to."

"Yeah right," Adam says. "Since when do you sit at the desk? Get away from there."

Guthrie gets up and slowly walks over and sits next to me on the floor.

Adam looks at us and I can tell he's thinking. He looks at Guthrie, then at me, and then back at Guthrie again. "Are you doing the phone trick? Is that someone trying to call me to tell me Heidi got in trouble at school today?"

We don't say anything we just stare at him.

"I hate it when you two don't answer me! Are you doing the phone trick?" He asks again.

I nod my head yes, but Guthrie shakes his head no. We both look at each other and then Guthrie nods his head yes and I shake my head no.

Adam rubs his forehead while he shakes his head and says, "you guys are really bad at lying sometimes, you know that?"

I stare at him and think about that, and then I say, "Actually, I think I'm a pretty good...," I stop talking because he folds his arms across his chest and glares at me and Guthrie nudges me.

"Did you get in trouble at school today, Heidi? Is that why you missed the bus?"

I shake my head no and start to cry. Adam walks over to us and sits on the couch near me.

"Why don't you just tell me what happened? If you didn't get in trouble, then what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"It sure looks like something's wrong," he says.

I wipe my eyes and shake my head no.

"Ok, if you're not going to tell me now, I guess I'll just have to find out later." He looks at both of us now. "Don't answer the phone again, do you understand me?"

We both nod and he gets up and walks back into the kitchen.

"Now what?" I cry.

"We just have to wait for Evan and hope he comes home before Denise's mom calls."

* * *

The phone doesn't ring again. When Evan, Ford and Daniel finally come home Guthrie runs up to them and whispers something. They all nod and hang their jackets up and walk into the kitchen. Guthrie sits back down next to me and I ask him what he whispered.

"I told Evan we came up with a plan for Halloween, and Daniel and Ford said they'd keep everyone busy in the kitchen so we can talk to Evan upstairs."

Evan comes out and we all go up to his room.

"Ok what's the plan?" He asks when he shuts the door.

"Denise's mom is going to take me trick-or-treating on Racetrack Road! When we're done I just have to meet up with Guthrie. That way you can stay at the party all night and you guys won't have to come home early."

"What party?" Guthrie asks.

I look at him. "I'll tell you later." Then I look back at Evan. "I'll tell Adam and Hannah I'm going trick-or-treating in Angels Camp with Denise, and that you'll still pick me up when you were supposed too."

"You just have to answer the phone when Denise's mom calls and pretend you're Adam!" Guthrie says.

Evan's quiet.

"Ok?" I ask.

"Sh! I'm thinking," he says.

We stare at him.

"That works for Denise's mom, but how are you going to tell Adam or Hannah you're going trick-or-treating with Denise? They're gonna want to talk to her mom."

We didn't think about that. We all sit quietly and think for a while.

"I know!" I yell. "I'll just tell Hannah that _Adam_ said I could go with Denise. And then I'll tell Adam that _Hannah_ said I could go with Denise!" I smile at them.

"That's the _dumbest_ plan!" Evan says hitting me on the top of my head. "They'll talk to each other and find out."

"Oh," I say. I didn't think about that. That does sound dumb.

"Why don't we think about this part of the plan later. I'll talk to Ford and see if we can come up with something. Right now let's just worry about Denise's mom. Let me talk to her and see if she believes I'm Adam, and then we'll think of the rest."

We nod our heads.

"Go back downstairs and when the phone rings I'll answer it up here and bring the phone into my room to talk to her."

"Why can't we stay here and listen?" Guthrie asks.

"Because if you're up here they'll think you got me to answer the phone. Go, downstairs quick. I don't know how long Daniel and Ford can stall. I hope your friend's mom calls soon Heidi, because if she waits until dinner, there's no way I'll be able to answer the phone first. And when I talk to her I have to talk in private."

We leave the room and go back downstairs and sit in front of the fire like we were here the whole time.

Ford sees us from the kitchen and says, "I guess I'll go get started on my homework." He smiles at us as he walks by and goes upstairs to his room.

"I hope this works," Guthrie says.

"Me too," I whisper. And the telephone rings.

It rings once. "Don't you two answer it!" Adam yells coming in from the kitchen to answer the phone. It rings again. We look upstairs. Why isn't Evan coming out in the hallway and answering it? Adam's almost to the phone!

"I got it!" Evan yells from upstairs. He picks it up and says hello and then says just a minute. He covers the mouth piece and says down to Adam, "it's Cleo, for Ford." Then he drags the phone into the bedroom and closes the door.

Adam goes back into he kitchen.

"Do you think it's really Cleo?" I whisper.

"I don't know. I hope it's Denise's mom because that was close!"

After a few minutes Evan comes out of the room and puts the phone back. He smiles down at us and gives us a thumbs up.

"I'm not going to get in trouble!" I yell.

"Sh!" Guthrie says and covers my mouth. He takes his hand away and we smile at each other.

* * *

Right before dinner Ford tells us to come up to his bedroom. When we get up there, he closes the door and we sit on the bunk beds with Evan.

"We've thought of the perfect plan," Evan says. "Heidi, at dinner you have to ask if you can go trick-or-treating with Denise. Tell Adam or Hannah her mom wants to take you to Angels Camp. Ok?"

I nod.

"When I talked to her mom earlier, she said she wants you to come home with Denise after school, and get dressed in your costume at their house. She'll take you trick-or-treating on Racetrack Road and then at 8:30 she's going to drop you off at the haunted house. I told her Guthrie would be waiting there for you. Ok?"

I nod.

"Ok. All you guys have to do now is be quiet and watch the rest of our plan work. Got it?"

"Ok!"

"Get ready because the plan starts right after dinner." Evan and Ford high-five. "We'll show you what a _good_ plan looks like." They laugh and Guthrie and I look up at them and smile.


	15. Chapter 15

At dinner I am so excited! If Evan and Ford's plan works, I'm going to be even more excited! I look over at Evan and he smiles at me and nods towards Hannah. Oh right, I have to ask Hannah if I can go trick-or-treating with Denise.

I look up at Hannah. "Hannah? Can I go trick-or-treating with Denise? She doesn't have anyone to go with and neither do I."

"Hey, what about me?" Crane asks smiling at me.

"You know what I mean." I give him a little push and look back at Hannah. "Her mom said she would take us to Angels Camp. Can I go with her?"

"I guess so. Let's see what Adam thinks." She yells down to Adam and everyone else stops talking and they listen.

"Heidi wants to go trick-or-treating with Denise. Her mom will take her to Angels Camp."

"Can I go? Pleeeeese?" I ask looking down the table at him, giving him my biggest smile.

"Oh Jeez!" Brian says. "Not the pleeeeeese and big smile thing."

Everyone laughs.

"I guess so," Adam says. "I'll have to talk to her mom first."

"She said she'd call tonight," I tell him.

"Yeah!" Evan yells. I look at him. "Now we don't have to pick Heidi up and come home early!"

I look at him confused. What's he doing?

"Alright!" Ford yells, and they high-five.

"No way!" Adam says. "I'm not going to have Denise's mom drive all the way out to the ranch to bring her home. Besides, no one will be here if she does. You guys are going to have to pick her up as planned." They groan. "I'll just talk to her mom and tell her where to meet you guys."

Evan gives me a tiny smile and a wink. Oh! So that was part of their plan. They're good at this.

After dinner Adam announces nobody's going into town because of the rain. There's a bunch of groans. Guthrie and I help Hannah with the dishes, while everyone else leaves the kitchen.

* * *

"I'll help you pack your costume tonight so you can take it to Denise's house." Hannah smiles down at me and hands me a plate to dry. "You must be pretty excited to be going with a friend."

I smile big. "I am!"

Just then the back door opens and Ford yells, "Guthrie come help me with the sheep! The gate got opened!"

Guthrie throws his dish towel down and runs outside with Ford.

I groan. How is their plan going to work if they have to spend all night looking for sheep!

In a few minutes Guthrie runs in and yells, "Hannah! Come quick! We need more help!"

"What about me?" I ask.

Guthrie shakes his head at me and says, "you're too little!"

"No I'm not!" I yell.

"It's ok," Hannah says. "You can help next time." She gives me a little hug as she runs out the door.

No fair! I'm not too little to help! But now I hear Ford yelling in the living room. I run in there.

"Adam! Brian! Some of the cows are out!" Ford yells. "Come quick! I have to go back and help with the sheep!"

"Why does it seem like the animals always get out in the rain. I hate the rain!" Brian yells. Daniel, Crane, Brian and Adam rush to the door to get their jackets.

"I can't find my jacket!" Adam yells. He runs up the stairs to his room. "I'll catch up with you!" He yells down.

Evan looks at me when they're all out of the room. "You're going to have to beg now, and tell Adam this is the only time to talk, ok?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Just do it!" He says and he picks up the phone.

Adam comes running down the stairs.

"Adam!" Evan yells. "It's Denise's mom. She's calling about trick-or-treating." Then Evan looks at me and nods a tiny bit.

Adam looks at me and then at Evan. "Tell her I'll call her later tonight," he says.

Evan nudges me.

"This is the only time you'll have to talk!" I cry. "You're gonna be out all night looking for cows!"

"Go tell Hannah and she'll talk to her," he says as he's almost out the door.

"Hannah's helping Ford with the sheep! Pleeeeease! You have to talk to her now!"

"Adam!" I hear Brian yell from outside.

Adam looks at me and I give him my saddest face. He sighs and says, "Evan, you talk to Denise's mom and tell her where you're going to meet her." And then he slams the door on his way out.

Evan hangs up the phone and smiles at me. "We did it!" He yells and holds out his arms to me. I jump in them and he spins us around. "That's how a _real_ plan works!"

"The sheep and cows getting out was part of your plan?" I ask.

He nods. "Yep!"

"Wow! You're good at making plans."

He puts me down and runs to the door. "I gotta go help them now. I don't know how many cows Ford let out." He puts his jacket on and heads out the door.

"Wait!" I yell as he slams it shut. He didn't hear me. "I'm all by myself," I say sadly to no one.

I walk to the front door and open it and look out. It's raining hard. I hear lots of yelling out there by the barn and pasture. Maybe I can help. Guthrie's twelve and he's helping. I'm not too little!

I run upstairs to my room and put my shoes on. I leave my pajamas on. It would take to long to change out of them and put clothes on. I run downstairs and go outside. It's cold in my pajamas. It's dark and scary, but I run over to the barn.

Hannah and Guthrie are trying to get the sheep back in their pen.

"They're too fast!" Guthrie yells.

"It'd be easier if we were on a horse and had a lasso," Hannah yells. "Too bad your brothers are out with the cows."

"I can help you!" I yell.

"Heidi, go back inside!" Hannah yells.

"No! I'm all by myself in there and I'm scared!" I yell back.

"Then stay in the barn out of the way," she yells.

I walk over to the barn and go inside. I'm alone in here too. I walk over to Lucy. "I can help," I tell her. "I'm not too little!"

I walk over to my saddle and start to get it. It'll take too long to put the saddle on and get her ready to ride. I look over at her. Evan rides bareback sometimes. He's gonna teach me soon. I'll just try tonight. I take two ropes off the wall and walk back to Lucy.

"Ok girl, I'm gonna get on you without a saddle," I tell her. I tie a rope around her neck and walk her over to the gate and out. It's hard to get on her without a saddle so I walk her over to some wooden crates that are stacked up by the fence. I climb up them and climb over to Lucy's back and swing my leg around so I'm sitting on her.

"Now we can go help," I tell Lucy. "See, I'm not so little!"

I get the lasso ready. If I see a sheep I want to be ready for it. It's dark and I hear lots of yelling, so that's where I'll go. I dig into Lucy's sides with my heals to tell her to run. She takes off and I have nothing to hold onto! She's not even going in the direction I want to go!

I lean onto her neck and try to wrap my arms around her. "Stop Lucy!" I scream. I don't know how to stop her! She keeps running fast right into the cows. I'm sliding off Lucy's back so I grab onto the hair on her neck to keep from sliding off, but it's not working and I fall.

I fall in the mud and Lucy keeps running. "Lucy!" I scream. "Come back!" It's raining so hard! I don't want to lose her. I run after her and the cows move out of my way. I keep running but I can't see her anymore because it's too dark. I fall down on my knees and cry.

I'm sitting in the middle of a bunch of cows. They're not right next to me because they don't like me but they're around me. I stand up and look around. I look to see if I can see lights from the barn or the house. These stupid cows are in my way! I just need to find out which way to walk. I listen for the direction of all the yelling and go that way.

I can feel the rain is stopping and I keep walking in the direction of the yelling. I'm soaking wet and muddy, and cold, just like I was today after school. I wish I was wearing clothes instead of pajamas. I hear more yelling and it sounds like my name.

I yell out, "I'm over here!"

I hear a whistle so I whistle back. Now I hear a horse riding around me so I yell out again. Crane rides up to me and yells, "get on!" He holds his hand down to me and I put my foot in his stirrup, grab his hand and he pulls me up behind him.

"We have to find Lucy!" I yell. I don't know if he hears me because he doesn't answer. So I yell it again, and still he doesn't answer. We're at the barn now so I yell loud. "Crane! We have to go find Lucy! She's out there lost somewhere!" Why isn't he answering me?

There's no one to help me get off so he walks his horse over to a bunch of hay bales and says, "get off."

He sounds mad. I climb down and then he gets off his horse.

"What were you thinking!" He yells.

I stare at him. "I was trying to help. But Crane, we have to find Lucy! She's out there all by herself!"

"If I were you I wouldn't be worrying about Lucy right now!" He yells.

I stand on the bale of hay and watch him lead his horse away.

"Hey!" I hear Adam yell. I turn around and see him and Brian walking over to me and they look mad. They must've already put their horses away. "What the heck do you think you're doing!" I back up a little but there's nowhere to go. The bales of hay I'm on are stacked against the wall.

I glare at them. "Why are you so mad! I was just trying to help! Now Lucy's lost! Go find her!" I yell at them. I can be mad too!

I don't think they liked what I said because they look madder and Brian says slowly, "what did you just say?"

I look for a way out, but the only way out is the door behind them. If I run around them I could make it. I look at each of them and see Brian smile a little bit while he's glaring at me.

"You're gonna run, aren't you?" He asks. "Go ahead, I dare you! I'll catch you so fast you won't even know what hit you!"

That means I have to run around Adam instead. We all stare at each other and then I jump down off the hay and bolt for the door, but before I even reach Adam, Brian scoops me up with one arm around my waist and lifts me up off the ground so I can't go anywhere. I scream and kick.

"Stop!" He yells.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" I cry as he squeezes his arm tighter around my waist.

"Stop kicking!" He yells.

He's hurting me so I stop. He puts me down but holds onto my arm.

"What were you thinking!" Adam yells. "Look at you! You're wet and muddy and," he looks closer at me, "are those your pajamas?"

I look up at him and stare.

"God dammit! Get in the house!" He yells.

Brian won't let go of my arm so I walk with them over to the house.

* * *

Everyone else is already inside. I don't see Guthrie so he must be getting cleaned up. I kick my shoes off by the door and run up to my room to change. I think I'll just stay up here for the rest of the night. I get clean pajamas out and take my wet, dirty ones off. I'm so dirty! And I'm freezing! I put my pajamas on and sit on the floor. I start crying a little when I think about Lucy. I hope she's ok. She's probably out there freezing cold, just like me!

There's a knock on my door and Hannah says, "Guthrie's out of the bathroom. Get in there and get cleaned up."

When I hear her leave I open my door and walk to the bathroom. Everyone's quiet downstairs. I go in the bathroom and get cleaned up and when I'm done, I walk back to my room.

"Get down here!" Adam yells.

I pass Ford going upstairs on my way down. I look around the living room and there's nowhere to really sit. Normally I would squeeze in next to someone on the couch, but I don't want to do that now. Everyone looks mad at me, so I stand.

"Go sit in front of the stove," Hannah says.

I shake my head no.

"Why not?" Brian asks.

"Because you guys all look mad at me." Well, just Adam, Crane and Brian look mad at me.

"We are mad at you!" Adam yells. "But you're gonna get over here and sit your butt down by the stove!"

"Uh-uh. You're yelling at me." I stand there and glare.

"Now!" He yells.

I don't want to go anywhere near them, so I don't move.

"Come sit next to me," Hannah says, and she smiles at me.

But she's next to Adam so I shake my head no.

"That's it!" Brian yells and he gets up.

I don't know which way to run, kitchen, or stairs? He's coming fast! Stairs! I turn around and run right smack into the banister. I hit it hard and fall down.

That hurt! I hear some groans and I hear someone say, "ow! That's gotta hurt!" And someone else says, "are you ok, Heidi?" Brian is down on the floor with me asking me if I'm ok and Hannah's there too.

Sometimes when I get hurt I get mad. Especially if I'm embarrassed. This is definitely one of those times! "Look what you made me do!" I glare at Brian and clench my fists and think about hitting him.

"I know that look," he says picking me up.

I try to get away, but he's stronger so I stop. He carries me over to the couch and I start to cry. I hug him and cry as he sits down with me. I lay my head up on his shoulder. "That hurt didn't it?" I nod. He rubs my back. I'm embarrassed so I don't want to look at anyone.

Hannah says, "how about some coffee boys?"

They agree and she walks into the kitchen while I listen to my brothers talk.

"It was a good thing only three cows got out," Daniel says. "I wonder how just three got out and not more?"

"Yeah," Crane says. "We'd still be out there if half the herd got out. That was pretty lucky it was only three."

"Ford said only two sheep got out. That was pretty lucky too." Adam says.

I just sit and listen and hug Brian while he talks and rubs my back. I can feel the heat from the stove and I get warmer. It makes me tired. I hear Guthrie and Ford talking about getting the sheep and pretty soon Hannah says, "coffee's ready. I made hot chocolate too."

"Do you want hot chocolate?" Brian asks me as everyone gets up and goes into the kitchen.

I shake my head no and ask him if he wants to get up and get some coffee.

"No, I'm fine right here." He hugs me and I close my eyes.

I open them when I hear someone sit down next to us.

"What happened out there?" Adam asks me. "How'd you end up mixed in with the cows?"

I keep my cheek resting on Brian's shoulder. "I went out there to help and I fell off Lucy."

"Was she spooked?"

I don't answer and my eyes start crying.

"What happened?" He asks.

"She's out there still all by herself," I cry.

Brian starts rubbing my back again.

"We'll find her in the morning," Adam tells me. "What made you think you could go out there and help? You know you're not supposed to."

"Guthrie was out there helping so I thought I could. Besides, you left me all alone."

"What'd you mean?" Brian asks.

"Everyone went outside to help and I was all alone in here. Everyone else was helping so I thought I could." My eyes are tired so I close them.

"We need to get you to bed," Adam says. "You've got a busy day tomorrow."

I open my eyes. "Can I stay down here a little bit longer?" I ask.

"For a little while," he says and I close my eyes and fall asleep.

* * *

Hannah wakes me up in the morning and I sit up fast. I'm so excited, it's Halloween!

"Let's get your costume packed," she says.

I jump out of bed and get my golden belt buckle I won at last years' rodeo.

"Here." I hand it to Hannah and she packs it in a bag. I get out my fancy plaid cowgirl shirt and my cowgirl hat. I hand it all to Hannah and she packs it.

"I'm gonna wear my jeans and boots to school."

"Don't forget your pillowcase for the candy," she says.

I get it and ask, "do you think I could have my BB gun? Please?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," she says smiling at me. "How do you carry your gun when you go trick-or-treating, anyways?"

"Brian put a strap on it for me that I put over my head so it rests on one shoulder and the strap crosses over my chest so the gun is on my back. It's way better than having a toy gun on your belt."

She smiles at me. "Alright, I think you're all packed up. I'll put this bag by the front door. Get dressed and come down for breakfast."

I get dressed really fast and run downstairs.

* * *

Everyone's in the kitchen when I get downstairs. It's crazy in here. I sit down and drink my orange juice and grab a piece of bacon as the plate goes by. Ford, Evan and Daniel grab their lunches and head out. Guthrie and I are the only ones at the table. Adam is over with Hannah by the stove hugging her as usual and Brian and Crane come sit down near me.

"We found Lucy this morning," Crane says.

"You did! Is she ok?"

"Yep. She was waiting for us by the fence," Brian says.

Adam walks over and looks at me. "How come she wasn't wearing a saddle, Heidi?" He asks.

I drop the bacon I'm holding and stare at him. I shrug my shoulders.

"You don't know?" Adam asks.

I shrug my shoulders again and say, "it must've fallen off."

"Nope," Brian says. "It's in the barn right where it's supposed to be."

Darn! That was a dumb thing to say.

"We're you riding bareback?" Crane asks.

They're all three looking at me and I don't know what to say, so I just stare at them.

Hannah comes over and hands me my lunch. "Alright boys," she says, "she's gotta go to school now."

"We'll talk later," Adam says.

"It'll have to wait until tomorrow," Hannah says. "She's going to Denise's after school and she'll be in bed before we get home from the party. Right?" She looks at me smiling.

I nod my head.

Adam looks at me and Guthrie and says, "be good for Evan and Ford tonight. I'm not thrilled leaving you home alone with them again, but I've already talked to them about it. Normal bedtime, ok? It's a school night." We nod our heads.

"Alright twerp," Crane says, "give me a hug 'cause I won't see you tonight."

I hug him and Brian and Hannah and then Adam.

"Be good for Denise's mom," Hannah says.

"I will," I tell her. I wait around for a little bit.

"Go on," Hannah says, "you'll be late for the bus!"

I look up at Adam. "Adam?" He looks down at me.

"What?"

Very quietly I say, "can I have my gun back please? I promise I won't point it at anybody."

His eyes start to look a little mad. "You're not supposed to be asking that." He spins me around and gives me a little push towards the living room. "Go to school!"

I run to the door and I can hear them laughing a little in the kitchen. Oh well, at least I tried.

I meet Guthrie at the door, grab my stuff and walk out with him to the bus stop.

* * *

School goes by so slowly today! Some kids wear their costumes to school and some don't. I don't like to wear mine anymore because in second grade a big kid took my cowgirl hat at recess and a bunch of boys played keep away with it.

I chased them all over the field but they were taller than me so it was hard to reach it. Then this one really tall boy had it and he held it up high and I kept jumping up and down trying to reach it. He kept laughing and I got so mad I kicked his leg really hard and he dropped it. It landed in the mud and then he was mad I kicked him so he stepped on my hat and smashed it into the mud. It was ruined and I cried. I didn't have a hat for trick-or-treating that year, so I don't take any chances anymore. I don't want someone to ruin my costume.

After lunch we have a party in our classroom. I love parties because that means no work and we get to eat cookies and cupcakes and lots of candy.

I'm sitting by Denise when Amy walks over to us. I've been able to avoid Amy and Susie yesterday and today, until now.

"Susie's really mad at you! She got in trouble because your brother told her mom about the game! You broke it too, and her cousin is really mad! Susie says you're never allowed back at her house again!"

I'm getting mad. I want to stand up and slap her face! "How come you're telling me all this, and not Susie?" I ask.

"Because she doesn't want to talk to you!"

I shrug my shoulders. Denise leans over and whispers, "just let her finish talking and then she'll leave."

I stare at Amy as she says, "you're not invited to her slumber party next year either!"

She turns around to walk away. Who cares. I don't want to go to her stupid slumber party anyways! But them Amy turns back around and smiles at me while she says, "did you have fun talking to your mom and dad with the Ouija board?"

That's it! I jump up and my chair falls backward and crashes to the floor. I slap Amy really hard on the cheek and she cries.

"Mrs. Wilson," Amy cries running to her. "Heidi slapped me!"

I see my teacher look at me and she starts walking towards me with a frown on her face.

Oh great. School is almost over too. I can't stay after school today, please don't make me stay after school.

"Mrs. Wilson, I can't stay after school today. I'm going home with Denise," I tell her just as she reaches my desk.

She looks at me with that frown on her face. "You can stay in at lunch recess for the next two days instead."

Yeah! If I don't have to stay after school no one will ever know I slapped Amy! I pick up my chair.

"I'll call Adam after school today," she says.

"What?" I sit down. "But all I did is slap her! Why do you have to call home?"

"Because you hit her," she says.

"That wasn't a hit! That was just a slap! You can't call home!"

She raises her eyebrow at me. I guess I should stop talking now. I lay my head down on my desk and look up us she walks over to the chalkboard and writes my name on the board under the words 'Lunch Detention'. Then she writes the number three after my name.

"Three! Mrs. Wilson, you said two recesses!"

She turns around and raises her eyebrow at me again.

"You said two you can't just change the number like that!"

She turns back around to the board and erases the number three and writes five.

"What! Five?" I stand up. "That's not fair!"

The kids start laughing and Mrs. Wilson turns around and gives them her mean teacher look. Then she turns back to the board and starts erasing the number five.

"You can't just keep changing the number!" I don't like what she's doing. "Why don't you just write a hundred!"

She turns around then and says, "Heidi, sit down and be quiet now!" She says it in her mean teacher voice too.

I sit down and say quietly, "fine! I'll just erase the number later."

"What was that?" Mrs. Wilson says.

"Nothing."

"No, I'd like to know what you said," she says.

I just stare at her.

"I'm waiting," she says with her arms folded across her chest.

"Mrs. Wilson," Amy says. "I heard what she said." Everyone looks at Amy. "She said she'll just erase the number later."

I give Amy a dirty look. I'm so mad at her! Mrs. Wilson looks at me and raises her eyebrow. "Is that so?" She's staring at me.

I stare back at her and we both do that for a while. Is she waiting for me to say something?

"What?" I ask.

"I don't think I like your attitude right now Heidi," she says. "I will be calling home about this too."

I haven't gotten in trouble with my teacher in a long time, so I guess if I'm getting in trouble now, I might as well say everything I want to. Besides, I'm not going home after school today so I won't have to worry about getting in trouble at home until tomorrow.

"You can call home, but when I tell Adam what Lucy said he's gonna be mad at her. He's also going to be glad I slapped her. He'll probably tell me I should've punched her instead of slapping her. He'll also tell you to erase the number you're writing after my name!"

Mrs. Wilson walks behind her desk and gets a piece of paper and a pen. She starts writing something. When she's finished she brings me the paper and says, "go to the office and take this to Mr. Brick. I'll let them know you're coming."

She hands it to me but I don't take it. I just stare at her.

"If you go to the office now with this note, I won't have to call home and have someone pick you up NOW."

I grab the note and walk out of the classroom.

* * *

On my way to the office I read the note and decide I don't like what it says, so I rip it up and throw it in the garbage can.

When I get to the office I slowly open the door and the secretary points to the bench over by the principal's office. I hate this bench. The good thing is school's almost over so I won't have to be here long. Mr. Brick comes out of his office and motions for me to come in.

"Where's the note Mrs. Wilson gave you?" He asks.

"She didn't give me a note."

He glares at me. "That's strange. Maybe she left it on her desk. When she let me know you we're coming she said she wanted me to read the note." Then he picks up his phone and calls someone.

"This is Mr. Brick," he says into the phone. "I'm here with Heidi and she doesn't have a note." Then he listens.

He must be talking to my teacher. When he hangs up the phone he says, "Mrs. Wilson says she gave you the note and you left the classroom with it."

We stare at each other and then he says, "where's the note?"

I stare at him and think. If I tell him I ripped it up and threw it away I'll probably get in trouble. If I pretend I don't know what he's talking about I might not get in trouble. So I shrug my shoulders.

"Go wait out on the bench. When the bell rings you can go. I'll talk to your teacher after school about this and then I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I don't have to sit on the bench for long when the bell rings. I run back to class to get my stuff and I'm able to get in and out without my teacher seeing me. I meet Denise outside the door.

We walk out to her car and she smiles and says, "Amy deserved that slap. That was a really mean thing she said."

I smile back at her and we run to her car.

* * *

At Denise's house we have a snack and then we run to her room and she shows me her costume. She's going to be a witch.

"My mom's going to paint my face green!" She says. "Show me your costume."

I open my bag and show her my shirt first.

"It's so pretty. It looks like it has sparkles on it."

"It has a silver thread running through it," I tell her. "This is the shirt I wore in the parade last year." Then I show her my belt buckle.

"That's huge! You won that?"

"Yep. Me and Lucy."

"I can't wait to see Lucy someday," she says.

I nod and look around her room. "Do you want to play Barbies?" I ask.

"Ok." We sit down at her Barbie house and pick which Barbies we're gonna be, and play until her mom calls us for dinner.

Pizza! Denise's dad brought it home after he got off work. Denise and I eat quickly because we're excited to put our costumes on.

Once we're ready to go, Denise's mom takes a picture of us, and we head out the door. Denise's mom and her dad are both going.

It's a long drive to Sonora. It takes about an hour. I always fall asleep when I go with my family, but tonight I stay awake, because Denise and I talk the whole way, we're both so excited.

* * *

When we get to Racetrack Road Denise's dad parks on the street and we get out and look all around us. Almost every single house is decorated! There are tons of kids everywhere!

Racetrack Road is like most roads in Sonora, Angels Camp, and Murphys. No street lights, no sidewalks, houses aren't super close together, and the road has hills on it. This road is miles long and there's no way we'll be able to walk the whole road tonight.

Denise and I run to the houses so we can get lots of candy before Denise has to go home. Her parents don't want her out that late because it's a school night. Lots of the houses are decorated scary, and most give out more than one piece of candy. We've gotten full-sized candy bars from three houses already too!

Then we come to the haunted house. There are tons of kids hanging around outside and parents waiting for their kids to come out. The house is an old three story house. Denise's mom says it's a Victorian house. I guess that just means it's old.

Sonora's 4-H club makes the haunted house every year. They decorate it really scary inside and out. I hear it's really scary and that's why Adam doesn't want us to go in it until we turn twelve.

"Can we go inside?" Denise asks her parents.

"No. I think a haunted house would be too scary for two ten-year olds," Denise's mom says as she smiles at both of us. "Besides, I don't think Heidi's brother would like us letting Heidi go in without me asking first."

"Yes he would!" I tell her.

Her mom smiles at me and says, "no, not tonight."

Darn. I want to go in it now, but that's ok, because I get to go in it later tonight with Guthrie.

We continue going trick-or-treating down the other side of the road and my pillow case is almost half full already! This _is_ the best place to go!

When we get to Denise's car her dad says, "let's take you back to he haunted house so you can meet your brother."

"Can we trick-or-treat on our way back?" Denise asks.

"No, it's almost 8:30. We'll drive to it. I don't want Heidi's brother to worry."

We get in the car and Denise's dad drives up the street slowly. When we get to the haunted house I see Guthrie and Kenny waiting down by the road. Guthrie is Dracula just like Brian this year, and it looks like Kenny is a mummy. I get out of the car and say goodbye to Denise and her dad, and Denise's mom gets out too, and we walk up to them.

"Hi, I'm Guthrie, and this is my friend Kenny."

"Hi," she says. "My name's Judy."

I look at Denise's mom and say, "thank you for taking me. I had a lot of fun."

"Your welcome Heidi."

She stands there waiting. I wonder what she's waiting for.

"Bye," I say.

"I can't leave you with just Guthrie. I thought you had an older brother with you?"

Guthrie and I look at each other. What do we do now?

"We do," Guthrie says. "He's in the haunted house right now."

"Oh, that's good. I'll just wait until he comes out."

"You don't have to," I tell her.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be out soon," Guthrie adds.

"I can wait," she says, "I want to make sure you kids are safe before we leave."

We look at each other again and we all stand around quietly. Then I can tell Guthrie has an idea.

"There he is!" Guthrie yells pointing to some tall guy with a mask on. He's way over by the house.

"Yeah, there he is," I yell.

Guthrie mouths the word 'run' to me and we run across the huge grassy area over to the guy with the mask.

"Bye," Guthrie waves back at Denise's mom.

"Bye," I yell too as I'm running.

We run up to the guy and Guthrie says, "have you seen my brother, Evan?" Then he says to me," turn around and wave goodbye."

We both turn around and smile and wave to Denise's mom and she waves back and turns towards the car.

"What do you kids want?" The guy asks.

"Have you seen my brother?" Guthrie asks. He turns around and waves again so I do too, and we watch Denise's car drive off.

"What?" The guy asks.

"Never mind," we say laughing, and we run back down to Kenny.

"That was close!" I say.

"I know. Look at all the candy we got so far!" Guthrie shows me his pillowcase and it looks like he has more than me.

"Can we go in the haunted house now?" I ask.

"Are you sure you won't be scared?" Kenny asks. "You're only ten."

I glare at him. "No. Are you sure _you_ won't be too scared?"

"Come on guys, stop fighting and let's go!" Guthrie says.

We run up to the house and over to the line. It's pretty long, but that's ok because we get to eat our candy while we wait. As we move closer to the front door I see people are paying money before they go inside.

"Guthrie, do you have to pay to go in?"

"Yeah, it's a dollar. Evan gave me two dollars so we could go in."

"I have three dollars," Kenny says. "That way I can go in once now, and then me and Guthrie can go in a second time."

"But I can't," I say.

"You can wait out here for us," Kenny says.

"Yeah," Guthrie says, "there's lots of people out here so you won't be by yourself."

I shrug my shoulders. "Ok."

* * *

We make it to the front of the line and wait for our turn. They're taking people in small groups and we're next! I'm starting to feel scared. I hear lots of screams inside.

We give the man wearing a scary mask our money, and the lady dressed as a witch starts to take us in when she stops and looks at me.

"You have to be ten to go inside," she says.

"I am ten," I say standing as tall as I can. People always say I look smaller than a ten year old and I hate that!

"She's ten," both Kenny and Guthrie say.

"Ok, I just have to make sure." She walks us inside a small room with black walls and cobwebs all over the place, and says, "this is where I leave you. You just keep walking all the way to the end."

What! She's not going with us? She goes back outside and the lights turn off and scary music starts playing. It's not really music, but more like screams and scary noises. I scream and Guthrie and Kenny laugh.

"This is just the beginning!" Kenny says.

I don't think I'm gonna like this. The light goes back on but not all the way so it's still dark. There's someone dressed like a mummy at a doorway motioning for us to follow him.

We're in a dark hallway and at the end of it there's a witch sitting at a table with a crystal ball. She's smiling at us scary and then she motions us toward her and I look for the mummy but he's gone. Guthrie and Kenny start walking towards the witch but I don't want to.

"Come on," Guthrie says, grabbing my hand and pulling me.

We slowly walk towards the witch and the hallway is pitch black except for a green light coming from the crystal ball. I look at the witch and I'm scared. I don't like her smile. All of a sudden somebody jumps out at us from the side of the wall and screams at us. I scream and all three of us jump and we run a little to the witch and then Kenny and Guthrie laugh.

"I'm scared!" I yell. But it's hard to hear me over the music sounds.

When we get to the witch she laughs really scary and points to an opening on her right and motions for us to go that way. It's a staircase.

"I don't want to go up!" I yell.

"Come on," Guthrie says.

I look behind me at the witch and she laughs at me. I don't want to back either.

Guthrie pulls on me until I start walking up the staircase. It's pitch black on the stairs except for the red lights shining on the steps. They look like red Christmas tree lights. So the only thing we can see is our feet walking on the steps. I walk up slowly until Guthrie grabs my arm and starts pulling me. All of a sudden this huge lit up spider falls down from the ceiling on us, and hisses.

We all scream but mine's a real scream. Kenny and Guthrie's is a laughing scream. I pull on Guthrie's arm. "I want to go!" I yell. "Please!" I try to pull him.

"No! Come on. You can't go back. It's just pretend, remember?"

The spider is already gone and we're at the top of the stairs. The mummy is there again and he motions for us to follow him into a room. We walk in the dark room and then he's gone again. All of a sudden the lights go on but not bright and there's a bloody lady laying on a bloody bed and a man with an axe chopping at her.

"Why is he chopping that lady?" I yell and I start crying.

Kenny laughs and says, "she's not real."

Then the man with the axe turns around and looks at us. He has a crazy smile on his face and he's covered in blood, and then he lunges at us with the axe! I scream, Guthrie and Kenny yell and the lights go out.

"I wanna get out of here!" I scream.

Guthrie finds me in the dark and says, "Sh! It's ok. It's just pretend."

I'm crying now and a dim light goes on in the hallway and the mummy is standing here with us again motioning for us to follow him down the spiderweb covered hallway. He points to another room that's dark and then the light in the hallway goes off. We stand in the doorway waiting for the lights to go on.

A small light like a flashlight turns on at the end of the room, and we can see the mummy standing there motioning for us to walk towards him. How'd he get there? He's standing at a second doorway in the room. We start walking towards him, and then a dim light turns on in the room and I look around. There are zombie statues all along both sides of the wall. I think there are six. They look scary and I walk fast to the other doorway where the mummy is motioning for us to come. I see something moving out of the corner of my eye. It's one of the zombies!

I thought they were statues, but this one's moving! It's slowly following us and I scream and run towards the mummy and another zombie starts moving on the other side of the room! Guthrie and Kenny are laughing at them, but not me. I'm screaming and pulling Guthrie's arm to the mummy. I look back and the zombies are following us and they're getting faster! Why does this room have to be so long!

We get to the mummy and the zombie room lights go off so it's just the mummy's flashlight that's on. He motions for us to follow him and he's pointing to another staircase! I stop at the bottom and decide I'm leaving. I look for the mummy to tell him I want out, but he's gone! I have to go up.

Guthrie takes my hand and the same red lights are on this staircase. But on this staircase there are spiders on the steps! Guthrie and Kenny reach down and pick one up.

"They're fake," Kenny says.

I keep looking up into the blackness wondering what's going to fall on us. Then I start to feel something falling on me. Then I feel more! I can't see what it is, but I feel one fall on my arm and I touch it. It feels like a spider! There are little spiders falling on me. Kenny and Guthrie laugh at the spiders but they feel creepy to me. I walk faster up the stairs.

The mummy is at the top again. He still has his flashlight and that's the only light upstairs. He motions for us to follow him and he leads us to another doorway.

I do not want to go in. But the mummy walks in with us so I follow. I'm gonna stay with this mummy, I want to leave this house and he's gonna take me out! But then he turns his flashlight off and we're standing in the dark! I feel something brush by me and I scream!

The lights go on but they're bright white flashes. They keep flashing on and off like lightning. There are scary looking people in the room. They have blood all over them and they're wearing scary masks! They're walking all around us and towards us but they look weird because of the lights going on and off. It's like they're in slow motion, but they're not. All of a sudden, the light flashes on and they're surrounding us in a circle. They all have their arms lifted above their heads so they look tall and they all scream, and then the lights go off and they don't come back on. I start crying again but no one can hear me because the scary music sounds keep playing and it's loud.

The mummy is back with his flashlight. I want to run up to him and tell him to take me out but I'm too scared. He motions for us to follow him again. How many more rooms are in this house! He walks us to another doorway. It's another dark room. He turns his flashlight off and a dim light goes on in the room.

"This is the maze room!" Kenny yells.

"It's just a maze Heidi," Guthrie says. "Look, the walls are cardboard," Guthrie tells me as he touches the wall that's covered in spiderwebs.

It's like a narrow hallway and I guess we're supposed to walk through. It looks like we're walking to a dead end but when we get there we can see it's not really a dead end, we have to turn and go down another narrow hallway that's lit up. This isn't so bad! We're just walking through a maze like the hay bale ones they have at pumpkin patches. I follow Kenny and Guthrie. We have to walk single file because the maze walls are so narrow. While we're walking I hear something behind me. I look back and there's a zombie walking behind us! When he sees I've seen him he makes a moaning noise and follows faster.

"Run!" I yell as I push my way past Guthrie and Kenny. They look back and start laughing but walk faster.

"Run!" I yell again.

Guthrie grabs my arm and says, "Heidi slow down! You're gonna knock the walls down!"

He pulls at me so I can't run, but we walk fast with the zombie chasing after us. I'm crying again. We finally reach the end and it's pitch black again.

Red lights go on and we can see we're at the top of a staircase. It's the same lights as the other staircases. We can only see our feet on the steps.

"I wanna get out of here!" I yell at Guthrie.

"Look Heidi, we're going downstairs. That means we're almost at the end."

We walk down slowly and I look up, afraid of what's going to fall on us. We reach the bottom but nothing fell on us. The mummy is there with his flashlight motioning for us to follow again. We follow him to another doorway of another dark room. He leads us in and then he's gone again. The light goes on and it's another bedroom. It's a kids bedroom.

There are two old beds in the room with kids sleeping in them. There are old fashioned toys all over the room. There's a big cabinet in the room and all of a sudden it opens and a bloody, scary man jumps out holding a chainsaw. He turns it on and I cover my ears. He walks to the kids' beds and starts cutting them with the chainsaw, and blood squirts up everywhere! I scream and Guthrie and Kenny laugh. The scary man looks at us and starts coming towards us with the chainsaw. We back up and I cry and then the lights go off. A light goes on behind us and there's the mummy again with his flashlight.

He motions for us to follow him down the hallway and there's a dim light on in a room. He doesn't go in the room he just keeps walking down the hallway. When we get to the room we look in and see a bathroom. The light is actually candles. A lady is laying in the bathtub and the tub is filled with blood! The lady's arm is laying out of the tub and it's all bloody and there's a knife laying on the floor below it. All of a sudden the lady opens her eyes and turns her head towards us and screams. I scream and all three of us jump. Then we continue following the mummy.

More stairs, same as before. We start walking down them and I hope nothing falls on us. Nothing does and when we get to the bottom of the stairs we're in a big room.

There's a path of Christmas tree lights on the floor showing us which way to walk. We have to walk by tables lit up with candles and plates and bowls full of gross bloody body parts on them! There's a bowl full of eyeballs, a plate with bloody fingers on it and a head with his skull opened up and his brains spilling out. Guthrie says the brain is spaghetti noodles. There's another table with cut up hands and legs. There's blood all over the place! We keep following the path and we get to a dark part of the room.

A light hanging from the ceiling turns on and shines on a kitchen table. There's a man standing at the table with a butcher knife and he's holding a person down on the table and chopping their head off. The head rolls off the table but the body keeps shaking even without its head. It looks so real! Then the man with the butcher knife looks at us and I just know he's gonna lunge at us. But then another light turns on and I see about three more bodies laying on the floor with their heads chopped off, and blood all over the place. The bodies get up and they start chasing us out of the kitchen. How do they do that with no heads! I scream and run out the door and we're outside.

But we're in a graveyard. We have to follow a short dirt path to a gate in a white picket fence. We walk by gravestones and as we do people dressed up as ghosts pop up from behind them and scream. I scream too and run out the gate. Kenny and Guthrie are laughing behind me. There's a lady dressed as a witch at the gate passing out candy and asking us if we liked the haunted house but I keep running past her. Guthrie and Kenny talk to her for a little bit and get candy.

Guthrie runs over to me and says, "here, the lady gave me some candy to give to you." He puts it in my pillowcase.

"That was so cool!" Kenny yells running up to us.

"I know," Guthrie says. "Let's go back in!"

"I don't ever want to go in a haunted house again!" I cry. "Please don't go back in! Please don't leave me here by myself!"

Kenny says, "look Heidi, there's a ton of people out here. You won't be alone." I look around and he's right. "Besides, we'll be back out before you know it."

"What time is it?" I ask.

Guthrie looks at the watch Evan let him borrow.

"9:30."

"That took a whole hour!" I say. You want me to wait out here for an hour? What time are Evan and Ford coming?"

"10:45. That will give us time to get home before midnight," Guthrie says.

"And that gives us time to go through the haunted house one more time before my mom picks me up at 10:30," Kenny says. "Come on Guthrie."

Guthrie looks at me and I can tell he really wants to go back in.

I nod my head. "Ok."

"Thanks Heidi!" He yells as he runs off with Kenny.

I look around me. There are a lot of people out here but they're mostly big kids now because it's getting late. Some of them look scary in their costumes too. I walk over to the side of the house where the line is. I can see Kenny and Guthrie in it and Guthrie waves at me. I wave back and sit down on the grass. It's wet. Probably from yesterday's rain, but I don't care. I feel around in my pillowcase for some candy to eat and find the full size Hershey bar.

I eat and watch the line. It feels like time is going by so slowly! Guthrie and Kenny have barely moved. I don't like being out here all by myself.

I wait, and wait. It feels like I've been here for over an hour now! I've eaten lots of candy too. I look at the line and I don't see Guthrie or Kenny. Good. They should be inside and coming out soon. I take out another piece of candy to eat and look across the grass over at two big kids in costumes looking at me.

They both have black capes and scary masks on. Why are they looking at me? They're scaring me. I look at the haunted house to see if Guthrie and Kenny are coming out, but they're not. I look back at the big kids and they're walking towards me!

They're both bigger than me. I look around and see there isn't as many people around as there were before, and the people that here are all big. I'm probably the smallest kid here and these guys are walking towards me fast. I don't know if I should get up and run, or stand up, or keep sitting. There's not enough time to run or stand because they're here, and they stop right in front of me.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hello, McFadden." One of the guys says.

I'd know that voice anywhere. It's Gary! I hope the other guy isn't his brother Rick, because I'm scared of him. I look up at them from where I'm sitting.

"Give us your candy," the other guy says, and I can hear from his voice that it is definitely Rick.

I don't move. I don't want them to take my candy! I look around quickly to see if Guthrie and Kenny are coming out of the haunted house yet, but they're not. I don't see any adults around either. I feel like crying because I don't know what to do. They look so scary with their masks on. I stand up.

"Give us your candy!" Gary yells.

"No!" I yell.

Gary starts to grab my pillowcase so I start running.

I run as fast as I can and they're chasing after me. I've never been so scared in my life! I wish I had my BB gun now. Not so I could shoot them with it, but so I could hit them with it like it was a baseball bat!

I can hear them gaining on me and the road is starting to go uphill. I look back and they're only a few feet behind me. They're gonna catch me, I know it!

I see a side street that goes downhill so I run that way. My cowgirl hat falls off my head but I can't stop to get it. I see another side street and run down that way. I run as fast as I can to the end of the street, but then I have to stop because it's a dead end! There's a metal railing a little taller than me where the road stops, and there's a bunch of tall bushes behind it. Now what do I do?

I turn around. Gary and Rick run up and stop too. Those masks make them look scarier than they already are.

"Give us your candy and we'll leave you alone!" One of them says, I think it's Rick.

I really don't want to give them my candy. Rick comes closer to me to grab my pillow case and I kick him as hard as I can where it counts! My brothers taught me how to do that. Rick groans and bends over and cries out in pain.

"Get her candy, Gary!" He yells.

Gary runs towards me and I try to kick him too, but I can't. He grabs my arm and it hurts. I swing my pillowcase around and throw it right at him and it hits him in his face. He lets go of my arm to cover his face with his hands. All of my candy spills out of the pillowcase and falls all over the ground. I climb over the metal railing as fast as I can and run into the bushes.

I run through the bushes fast. After a while I stop and turn around. They're not chasing me. I watch them pick my candy up off the ground, as I sit here quietly hiding in the bushes, and hope they go away.

When they're done picking up my candy they throw my pillowcase way up high in the bushes. "See you tomorrow McFadden!" Rick yells. They both laugh and walk away.

I cry. They're so mean! I don't know why they keep picking on me, and it sounds like Rick _is_ going to be at the fight tomorrow. That means it probably won't be a fair fight between me and Gary. Rick _will_ hurt me, I know that for sure. I don't know why they like to pick on girls either.

I think about what just happened and it makes me cry harder. The bushes are scratching me, my candy is gone, my cowgirl hat is gone and I don't know where I am.

I wait a little while longer before coming out to make sure Rick and Gary are gone. I walk through the bushes and they hurt a lot! They're all prickly and poking me. It feels like I'm being poked with needles all over my body! I know the scratches have to be bleeding. When I get to the metal railing I climb over it and walk down the road.

I start to feel scared. I'm all alone and it's dark. When I get to the end of the road I have to turn onto another road. I look around. Which way do I go? I turn right and hope it's the right way. How come no one's around trick-or-treating anymore? It must be late. This road is all uphill and I have to walk slower. When I make it to the top I look at the street sign and it says Racetrack Road. I found it! But which way do I go? I turn left and start running.

The haunted house has to be around here somewhere. I haven't run that far when I see my brothers walking this way. They don't see me yet, but I can hear them yelling my name.

"I'm here!" I yell running towards them. They see me and run to me.

"Where've you been?" Evan yells as they run up to me. "It's after 11:00!"

Ford looks at me and asks, "what happened to you? You have scratches all over you and you're bleeding."

"Where's your candy and your hat?" Guthrie asks. "And why are you crying?"

"I want to go home!" I yell. I cry really hard. "Take me home!"

"What's wrong Heidi?" Evan asks.

"I just wanna go home!" I yell.

"Ok, let's go! We gotta run!" Evan says. We run down the street to the haunted house where the jeep is parked. We pile in and Evan starts it.

"They might be home before us, so I don't know if we're gonna get in trouble," Evan says.

"I don't care!" Ford says. "That party was worth being grounded for!"

As we're driving through Sonora on our way home Guthrie scoots closer to me.

"What happened?" He asks.

I just shake my head and cry.

"It'll be ok," he says. "I'll share my candy with you and hopefully we'll be home before anyone else is so we can just jump in bed."

I nod and lean against the side of the jeep and close my eyes.

* * *

"Heidi, wake up! We're almost home." Guthrie shakes me until I push him away.

I groan and sit all the way up to look out. I'm still tired so nothing looks familiar.

"Ford said if Adam and them are home first, we're going to say we had car trouble, ok?" He tells me.

I nod my head. I know where we are now. We're almost to the ranch.

When we pull in the driveway and we get closer to the house, we don't see the truck.

"We did it!" Evan yells. "We beat them back!" As we drive closer we see all the outside lights on and the inside ones on too.

"Why are all the lights on and not just the porch light?" Ford asks.

Evan says slowly, "I don't know." He stops the jeep and says, "you guys gotta run and get in bed. They could be home any minute."

I'm tired so I sit in the jeep and watch everyone else get out. They don't get far when I see the front door open and Adam comes out yelling. He's so mad I can hear him swearing. I'm not gonna get out yet. He's yelling at Evan and Evan's yelling back. I guess Evan's telling him about the car trouble, but why are they still yelling?

I see Guthrie running back to the jeep and he's yelling at me.

"He knows, Heidi! He knows! Run!"

What? Run? Run where? I get out of the jeep and Guthrie runs up to me and pulls me with him towards the barn.

* * *

We run into the barn and Guthrie pushes me down on a bale of hay so I'm sitting on it.

"What's wrong? Why are we out here?" I ask.

"Adam is so mad at you!"

"Why's he mad at me?" I ask.

"He knows what you did! He knows Denise's family took you to Racetrack Road!"

"How does he know that?"

"I don't know! He just does!"

I'm scared now and I start crying. "What do I do?"

"I don't know, think!"

We don't get any time to think because the barn door opens and Adam is standing there. His eyes look mad.

"Get back to the house!" He yells. "Now!"

Guthrie and I run past him and out of the barn. We run for the house and I turn around to look for Adam and he's right behind us. He's not running but he's walking really, really fast.

* * *

When we run into the house we immediately run upstairs. I can hear Evan and Ford yelling at each other up there. It sounds like they're yelling about Adam. I stop on the stairs and look around. Where's everybody else? The front door opens fast and slams shut as Adam walks in. He sees me on the stairs.

"Get down here!" He yells.

I really don't want to. He looks so mad and I don't want to be anywhere near him right now.

"Now!"

I walk slowly down the stairs and stop on the bottom step. I look up at him.

"I am so mad at you!" He yells and that makes me cry. "I can't believe what you did! You lied to me and you lied to Denise's family! I think this is one of the worst things you've ever done!"

He keeps yelling but I stop listening to think about that, and I don't think so. I think I've done way worse things than this. I don't know though, maybe he's right.

"Are you listening to me?" He yells. I nod my head. "Then what did I just say?"

I stare at him and keep crying. I don't know what he just said.

"You weren't listening were you?" He yells.

I shake my head no and he starts to pace back and forth in front of the staircase. I wish I knew where Hannah is. I wish I knew where everyone else is too. I sit down on the stairs and cover my face with my hands and cry.

He stops pacing and yells. "Dammit Heidi! I honestly don't know what to do with you right now! A part of me wants to yell at you until I'm blue in the face, a part of me wants to ground you forever, and a big part of me wants to spank you!"

I look up at him crying and stare at him. What? After a little while I say, "no, please don't do that."

He keeps staring at me.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry," I say.

"You're only sorry because you got caught!" He yells.

I cover my face with my hands again and cry. I hear him start pacing again. I wonder what he's thinking now. I wish this night never happened. I wish I didn't go to Racetrack Road and I wish I hadn't lied. After a while I hear him stop pacing.

"Why are your hands scratched?" He asks.

I don't look up I just keep crying.

"Heidi, why are there scratches on you hands?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"Look at me, dammit!" He yells. I shake my head. "Put your hands down and look at me!"

I don't so he kneels down and takes my hands away from my face. I'm afraid to look at him so I close my eyes.

"Why is your face scratched up?" He asks. He's not yelling right now.

I don't answer. I don't know how to answer that. The only thing I know how to do right now is cry.

"You have scratches all over. Why?"

I guess I didn't realize the bushes were that sharp. I guess I was too scared to notice. But I'm afraid to tell Adam what happened with Rick and Gary.

"Open your eyes and look at me," he says. He puts his hands on the sides of my face and wipes the tears off my cheeks with his thumbs, and I open my eyes.

"What happened to you?" He asks.

When I don't answer he stands up and puts his hand under my armpit and lifts me up so I'm standing. He leads me upstairs and says, "if you're not gonna tell me what happened I know three boys who are."

* * *

I walk with Adam as he leads me upstairs to the boys room. He's walking pretty fast too, so I know he's still mad. We stop in front of the boys room and he knocks really loud and says, "I'm coming in!" He opens the door and leads me in there with him.

"What the heck happened to Heidi?" He yells.

"I don't know," Evan says. "She was crying when we picked her up."

"What'd you mean you don't know! She's got scratches all over her!"

Ford says, "she didn't tell us what happened. She just kept crying and saying she wanted to go home."

"So while you two geniuses were at the party, Guthrie and Heidi were together on Racetrack Road?"

"Yes!" Evan says.

"Guthrie, what happened to Heidi?" He asks.

Guthrie doesn't answer he just stares at Adam for a long time and then says, "I don't know. She was crying when we found her."

"What do you mean, 'when you found her'? Weren't you with her Guthrie?" Adam asks, and I think he's starting to yell again.

Guthrie nods. "I was. Until Kenny and I went into the haunted house for the second time."

"What! You went in the haunted house and left her alone!" He yells. "Late at night?" Guthrie nods. "Heidi, what happened to you after Guthrie went into the house?" He asks me.

I look up at him and my eyes start to water.

"See!" Evan yells. "She's not talking!"

"Shut up Evan!" Then he looks down at me and says, "you'd better start talking! I want to know what happened when you were by yourself."

I look up at him and my eyes keep watering so tears start falling down my cheeks.

Adam sighs and says, "I guess you'll have to tell me tomorrow. It's late and you need to go to bed. Guthrie, bring me your candy and Heidi, go get me yours."

Guthrie brings his candy to Adam while I stand still.

Adam looks down at me and says, "Heidi, don't just stand there. Go get your candy!"

I can tell he's getting madder again because he glares at me while I stand here crying.

"She didn't have any candy," Guthrie says.

He looks down at me. "Where's your candy?"

He waits for me to answer but all I can do is shake my head no and look up and cry.

"Did you lose it?"

I shake my head.

He stares at me for a long time and I can tell he's thinking. Then he kneels down and looks into my eyes and asks, "did somebody take your candy?"

I stare at him for a long time.

"Somebody did, didn't they?" He asks quietly.

I nod my head.

"Is that how you got the scratches?"

I nod again. "I ran into some bushes to get away from them."

He stands up and yells at my brothers, "do you see what can happen when you don't do what you're told!"

"We didn't know!" Evan yells back.

"That's why you're not supposed to leave her alone!"

Guthrie starts crying.

"Do you know who took it?" Adam asks.

I nod. "Gary and Rick."

Guthrie is still crying and he says, "I'm sorry Heidi."

I look at him and I cry too.

"I'm gonna beat Gary up!" Guthrie yells. "And then I'll beat Rick up too!"

"Guthrie!" Adam yells. "You're not going to beat anyone up! Let me take care of it!"

Adam looks down at me and says, "go get ready for bed."

I walk back to my room, go inside, and close my door.

* * *

There's a knock on my door and Adam opens it. I turn around and look at him from where I'm sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Adam asks coming in and sitting on my bed.

I shrug my shoulders and go back to looking at my cowgirl shirt. It's ruined. It has rips from the bushes all over it.

"Maybe Hannah can fix it," he says.

I shake my head. I don't think she can, there are too many rips.

"Come get in bed," he says.

I wipe my eyes and get up and climb in bed.

"Where's everyone else?" I ask.

"They'll be home soon."

We stare at each other for a while and then I say, "I'm sorry Adam."

He doesn't say anything back, he just looks at me and puts his hand on my forehead and smooths my hair back. "We'll talk about that tomorrow."

"Are you still mad?"

He nods. "I'm still very mad at you, but I'll deal with you tomorrow."

That makes me cry.

"Right now I want you to go to sleep," he says. He gets up to leave. "Goodnight."

"Wait."

He turns around and looks at me. "What?"

"Can you stay with me?" I ask.

"I can for a little bit." He sits back down on my bed. "But only if you close your eyes."

I nod and turn onto my side. I close my eyes and cry softly while he rubs my back.

Then I look up at Adam and ask, "why do you think Gary and Rick keep hurting me?"

"What do you mean by _keep_ hurting you? I thought Rick didn't go to your school anymore."

"He doesn't. But at the polo game they stole a dollar from me."

"Did you tell Hannah or one of your brothers? Because you didn't tell me."

I shake my head no and the tears keep falling.

"Why?"

"Because you guys were so happy about winning the game. I didn't want to make you mad."

"I wish you would've told us so we could help you."

I nod.

"Close your eyes now. We can talk about that tomorrow too."

I close my eyes for about a minute, and then open them because I remember I'm supposed to fight Gary after school tomorrow and I'm sure Rick is going to be there.

"Adam?"

"What?"

"Rick really scares me. I'm afraid of him a lot."

"Okay," we'll talk about it tomorrow.

"No. I mean he scares me. Really, really bad. I'm afraid of him right now."

"Close your eyes. He can't hurt you right now."

I close my eyes. No. He can't hurt me right now, but he can tomorrow.

* * *

When I wake up in the morning my stomach hurts. Not because it's sick but because I feel bad. Today's going to be a bad day. First, I have to fight Gary and probably Rick after school, which means I'm probably going to get beat up. Then I have to come home and face Adam.

I get dressed and go downstairs to eat breakfast. Daniel, Evan and Ford must've already left for school because it's so quiet. But when I walk into the kitchen they're all sitting at the table eating. They're still quiet when I sit down and none of us says anything to each other. Hannah's in here too and she's not talking either. She's just standing at the counter making our lunches.

When Guthrie comes in we look at each other and he sits down quietly too. This is weird. We eat and then Hannah says it's time for us to go to school. But just me and Guthrie.

"Aren't you guys going to school?" I ask anybody who'll answer.

"We're not taking the bus today," Daniel says. "Adam's letting us take the jeep today."

Guthrie and I look at each other and shrug our shoulders.

"Hannah?" I say.

She looks over at me. "What?"

"Do I have to go to school today? My stomach hurts really bad."

"Yes, you have to go. Your stomach is probably hurting from eating too much candy." She looks like she's a little mad at me. "Besides, you need to go apologize to your teacher."

"What?" I think for a minute. "Oh." I say when I remember what happened yesterday.

My teacher must've called home like she said she was going to. Now I have to worry about getting in trouble at school, and that's another thing Adam's going to be mad about. Now I really don't want to go to school, but I don't want to stay home either because I don't want to see Adam.

"Come get your lunches."

Guthrie and I get up and take our lunches from Hannah. She seems mad because she's not smiling and she doesn't give us a kiss on our forehead, but she does tell us to have a good day. We take our lunches and head out to the bus stop.

* * *

While we're walking to the bus stop both Guthrie and I are still quiet. I guess he's thinking about what's going to happen when he gets home from school and has to talk to Adam about last night. Maybe that's why everyone was so quiet in the kitchen. Maybe they're all wondering how much trouble they're going to be in. I know that's what I would be thinking about if I didn't have another thing to think about first.

"Guthrie?"

"What?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Adam. Last night Evan and Ford said that if Adam doesn't punish you right away, then that means he's not sure what he wants to do yet. They said now he gets all day to think about it while we're at school. They also said this is the maddest they've seen him in a while so they're afraid they're not gonna just be grounded, but something worse."

"Like what?" I ask. I don't like the sound of that.

"I don't know."

We're quiet for a minute because I'm think about that, and I'm sure Guthrie is too, but I've got bigger things to think about right now.

"Guthrie?"

"What?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to get beat up after school."

"I told you, I'll be there with my friends. If Rick's there, we'll keep him from hurting you."

"I know. But I'm still scared. He's really mean."

"I know," he says.

We're quiet for a little while longer until I say, "Guthrie, do you want to cut school with me today?"

He looks at me and says, "are you crazy! Don't you think we're in enough trouble already?"

I don't answer him.

When the bus comes I get on and sit next to a window to think.


	17. Chapter 17

When I get to school I run out to the playground and look for Denise. I don't see her anywhere so I go swing on the swings. I do see Gary though, and when he sees me he walks over. I stop pumping my legs and I slowly stop swinging.

He stops right in front of me and smiles.

"How'd you get those scratches all over your face?"

"Shut up!" I yell. "I'm gonna hit you so hard after school today!"

"No you won't! You won't even get a chance to! Rick's gonna be there so when I'm done with you he's gonna beat you up!"

"What is your guys' problem! Why do you like to pick on girls? Is it 'cause you're too weak to pick on boys?"

He didn't like that. "No, we don't pick on any other girls. Just you because, we don't like you!" He yells.

"If Rick's gonna beat me up that's not a fair fight! Guthrie's gonna be there to stop him!" I yell.

"We're not afraid of Guthrie!" Gary says smiling.

"Well, you should be! This fight is between you and me and nobody else!"

Gary laughs and the bell rings. "We'll see about that!" He says walking away. Then he turns around and says, "your candy sure was good!"

"I hate you!" I yell as he walks away laughing.

I get up off the swing and walk to class. I'm so scared of Rick. I know Guthrie's going to be there, but Rick can beat him up easily, he's so strong. I hope Guthrie brings a lot of friends with him, because he's going to need them if he thinks he's gonna keep Rick from beating me up.

* * *

When I walk into the classroom I see Denise is already in her seat. I walk to my desk and say hi to her as I sit down. She says hi back but she doesn't look at me. She just keeps staring straight ahead.

Our teacher, Mrs. Wilson, says good morning and we all stand for the pledge of allegiance. Then I remember I'm supposed to talk to the principal today. I wonder when I'll be called to the office. I look over at Denise and she's still staring straight ahead. I hope she's not mad at me.

During reading time we have to read a story from our reading book and then answer the questions afterward.

"Denise? Can you help me?" I ask. Lately she's been helping me when I get stuck.

"No. I need to do my work," she says. She doesn't even look at me!

"Are you mad at me?"

"Heidi, I don't want to talk to you right now," she says, without taking her eyes off her book.

It sure seems like she's mad at me. I wonder why.

If she doesn't help me then I have to ask my teacher for help, and there's no way I'm doing that today! I'm pretty sure Mrs. Wilson hates me now. Besides, I haven't apologized to her yet. So I sit and stare out the window. I'll talk to Denise at recess.

* * *

When recess finally comes, I get up and follow Denise to the door. But as I pass by Mrs. Wilson's desk, she calls me over.

"Heidi, I'd like to talk to you."

I walk over to her desk and stand in front of it. I really need to go talk to Denise, so I hope this doesn't take long. I look up at the board and I don't see my name up there anymore. I wonder what that means. She waits until everyone is out of the classroom.

"Heidi, we need to talk about yesterday." She looks at me and I look back at her.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Brick for how I talked to you." There. I apologized. Now maybe she'll let me go out to recess.

"Mr. Brick isn't here today."

Yes!

"He should be back tomorrow, so we're going to wait until he comes back to have a parent-teacher conference. In your case, with Adam."

"Why do you have to that?" I don't like those. Nothing good ever happens when we have one of those.

"Because that's what we're going to do." She looks at me with her mean teacher look.

"But why? I promise I won't do that again and I already apologized. Why do you have to have Adam come to school? You already called him on the phone."

She raises her eyebrow at me. I guess that means I should be quiet. We stare at each other for a little bit.

"Can I go out to recess now?" I ask.

"No. You're going to stay inside today."

"For the whole day! Why? I thought I just had lunch detention! That's not fair!"

"Go sit at your desk and put your head down."

I glare at her and walk to my desk slowly and sit down.

"Mrs. Wilson, what if I have to go to the bathroom?"

"I'll let you go when you need to. Now put your head down."

"I have to go now," I say.

She glares at me and says, "you'll have to wait! Now stop talking and put your head down!"

Boy, she sure is in a bad mood today! I put my head down but glare at her while she sits at her desk and works. This is going to be a really long, bad day!

* * *

For the rest of the morning Denise doesn't talk to me. She doesn't even look at me. I can't figure out why she's mad at me! I decide to write her a note.

"Dear Denise,  
Are you mad at me?  
From Heidi."

I fold it up and pass it to her. She won't take it from me so I have to lean over and put it on her desk. I wait for her to read it but she doesn't even touch it. What is wrong with her! Then she finally picks it up but she doesn't read it. She crumples it up and gets up and throws it away in the trash can.

"Denise, what's wrong?" I whisper to her.

She ignores me. Finally it's lunch time. I don't get to go out with everyone, but at least I might be able to talk to Denise before she goes to lunch. I get up quickly and stand in front of her.

"Why are you mad at me?" I ask.

She tries to go around me but I won't let her.

"What's wrong?" I ask. "Please tell me."

She looks at me and I can see she looks sad and I think she might cry.

"What?" I ask.

"Your brother called my house last night and talked to my mom. My mom told me what you did and then she got mad at me because she thought I knew." She starts to cry and says, "that's why I'm mad at you!" She pushes by me and runs out the door.

I go back to my desk and sit down. Why did Adam call her house? I feel so bad now. I put my head down on my desk and cry.

After a little bit Mrs. Wilson tells me to get my lunch out.

"Eat your lunch now, because when you're done you are going to write sentences."

I hate writing sentences! It's so boring. I guess I'll just eat as slow as I can. I think my teacher knows what I'm thinking because she says if I'm not done eating in fifteen minutes, she's going to take my lunch away and make me start writing anyways.

While I'm eating I think about Denise. I never thought she might get in trouble. But then I never thought Adam would call her mom. Why did he do that? How did he find out what we did? I don't get much time to think because my teacher brings me some paper and tells me what to write. It seems like it's always the same sentence! 'I will not talk back to my teacher.'

I write the word 'I' on the first line, and then the second line, and then on all the rest of the lines all the way down to the bottom of the page. Then I do the same thing with the word 'will'. This is going to take forever! I start to cry quietly again and continue writing until I've written the sentence a hundred times. Then I put my head down to cry and think.

* * *

After lunch recess I start to think about my bigger problem. The fight with Gary. I'm getting really nervous now. I really don't want to get beat up. Gary I'm not worried about. Rick on the other hand, I'm scared of.

After the last recess I really start to get scared. Usually I look forward to a fight, but this one I am dreading! I look over at Denise and she still won't look at me. It makes me feel sad. But when the bell rings at the end of the day, she finally looks at me.

She still looks really sad, but at least she's looking at me. "Heidi, I know about your fight with Gary today. I know you're fighting him because he was mean to me. So, I just want to say good luck!" I don't get a chance to say anything back, because she runs out of the classroom. That makes me happy. It stops me from thinking about the fight, but only for a tiny bit.

* * *

The walk to the upper field feels like a long one. As I get there I can see Rick and Gary are already waiting for me. I don't see Guthrie or anybody else. I feel like turning around and running.

"Are you ready to get your butt kicked?" Gary asks, laughing.

Rick laughs too. "Yeah, when he's done with you then it's my turn!"

I'm really, really scared!

"What's the matter McFadden? You look scared! Do you want to run home to mommy and daddy?" They laugh. "Oh wait, you don't have one!" Rick says.

That makes me mad!

"Oh look!" Rick says. "Here comes Guthrie! When I'm done with you, then I can beat him up too!" He laughs.

I turn around and see Guthrie running over. He has Kenny with him and two other boys.

"Did you come to help your little sister?" Rick asks Guthrie. He has a really mean look on his face. Now I'm scared for Guthrie. I should've called the fight off.

"No," Guthrie says. "I'm not here to fight. Heidi can beat Gary up all by herself! I'm just here to make sure you don't gang up on her. I'm here to make sure it's a fair fight!"

"How are you and your little friends going to do that?" Rick laughs. And then both him and Gary stop laughing. They're looking behind me and they look scared. I turn around and so does Guthrie. Ford, Evan and Daniel are walking over to us!

"What are you doing here?" I ask when they get closer.

"Yeah!" Rick yells over. "I thought you wanted a fair fight! This isn't fair to have three high schoolers beat us up!"

"Oh we're not here to fight," Daniel says. "We're here to help Guthrie make sure this is a fair fight. We hear you've been picking on our little sister. You've been ganging up on her and we don't think that's fair."

Then Evan yells, "you guys are a**holes because you think it's ok to pick on girls! We may not fight you today, but if you pick on her again WE WILL beat you up! Both of you!"

Ford yells, "you owe her a dollar, some candy and an apology! We're here to make sure you do that!"

"So get a dollar out and give it to her!" Daniel yells. Rick and Gary stare at him. "Now!"

Rick takes his wallet out, pulls out a dollar, and throws it over to me.

"Hand it to her!" Evan yells.

He picks up the dollar and brings it over to me. He doesn't look at me when he hands it to me. I take it and put it in my pocket.

"Tomorrow you will bring Heidi's Halloween candy to school and give it back to her! If you don't have it any more, you'll buy her new candy!" Daniel says. "You got that?"

Rick and Gary both nod. They look scared.

"We can't hear you!" Daniel yells.

They both say yes.

"Now you need to apologize to my sister for picking on her," Ford says.

They both apologize and Daniel says, "if you ever pick on her again, or any other girl, we will hunt you down and kick your a**!" Rick and Gary look really scared.

"Now, Heidi and Gary are gonna fight and we're gonna watch my little sister kick his butt!" Evan yells. "Go ahead Heidi."

I glare at Gary and clench my fists at my sides. He looks at me and he looks a little scared. He should be because I've already beat him up once.

"You got this Gary!" Rick yells.

"Come on Heidi!" Guthrie and Kenny yell. "Punch him in the nose!"

Ford, Evan and Daniel aren't saying anything but everyone else is chanting stuff. I tune them out and start to think about Gary being mean to Denise, and Rick teasing me about not having a mom or dad. I feel like exploding! And then I do!

I throw a punch at Gary's face and he ducks. Hmmm, he's getting better at this. He stands up and starts to throw a punch at my face but I pull my head back so he just punches the air. Then I punch him twice in the eye. He starts to cry and I punch him in the nose, hard! It starts bleeding.

"Ok, stop!" He yells.

But I don't! I'm so mad! I punch him in the nose again and then kick him where it counts and then I feel someone pick me up from behind me.

I kick my legs and yell, "put me down!"

I hear Daniel say, "that's enough Heidi. He said stop."

"Put me down! I'm not done!" I yell, trying to get away.

"Come on Gary," Rick says. "Let's get out of here!" Him and Gary start running away.

I keep yelling for Daniel to put me down, but he doesn't until they're gone and I can no longer see them.

Everyone is smiling and telling me good job and giving me high-fives. Daniel picks me up and swings me around and says, "good job little sis!"

Evan and Ford do the same.

"Let's go," Daniel says.

Kenny and the two other boys walk away and the rest of us walk across the field to wherever the jeep is.

"Thank you!" I say. "How did you guys know about the fight? And about the dollar? I only told Guthrie about all this." I look at Guthrie and he shrugs his shoulders.

"I only told Evan and Ford last night, after you told Adam that Gary and Rick took your candy. I told them about the dollar, and Denise, and the fight you were having today. I told them Rick was going to be here too. I didn't know they were coming," he says.

Ford says, "we told Daniel this morning."

"But aren't you gonna get in trouble?" I ask. "You had to cut school to be here on time. Right?"

"And when we drive home how are you going to explain why Heidi and I are with you?" Guthrie asks.

Daniel says, "Adam knows."

I stop walking. "What!"

They all stop and turn around to look at me.

"When Evan and Ford told me what was going on I went and told Adam," Daniel says. "That's why he let us take the jeep to school and he gave us a note to leave school after lunch. He told us not to touch Rick and Gary, but just make sure the fight was fair. He said he's tired of them picking on you, especially since you're a girl."

I don't know what to say. Adam's been in plenty of fights before, but he doesn't really do that anymore. And he definitely doesn't want us fighting. He always says fighting doesn't solve anything. I feel happy inside that he let my brothers help. I guess I _should_ tell them when bad things happen. We all start walking again.

That happy feeling goes away quickly when we all get in the jeep and Guthrie says, "do we have to go home now Daniel? Adam's gonna yell at us about last night."

"Yeah," Evan and Ford say. "Let's go somewhere. Anywhere besides home!"

Daniel laughs. "He told me you guys were gonna say that! He said to bring you home right after the fight."

They all groan and I say, "we could pretend the fight's not over yet."

Daniel turns around and smiles at me. "You're not gonna get me in trouble too." He turns back around to look at the road.

I glare at him and fold my arms across my chest. What's that supposed to mean?

Then Daniel laughs and says, "I can't believe what you guys did last night! That was so stupid!"

"How does he know, though?" Evan asks.

"I don't know," he says laughing. "All I know is he's mad and you are in so much trouble!"

We're all quiet the rest of the way home.


	18. Chapter 18

When we get home Daniel parks the jeep and jumps out, while the rest of us slowly get out and walk over to the house.

When we walk into the kitchen and look at the table, there are no cookies sitting on it. Hannah's over at the sink peeling potatoes, or carrots, or something like that for dinner.

"Where are the cookies Hannah?" Guthrie asks.

"No cookies today," she says. "Adam wants you to get started on your chores."

"But Adam's not here. You could give us some and he wouldn't know," I say.

Hannah glares at me and Guthrie nudges me.

I look at him and say, "what? We always get cookies after school. That's just the way it is."

"Come on!" He says as he pulls me out of the kitchen. Evan and Ford are already in the living room talking.

"What are you guys talking about?" Guthrie asks.

"We're trying to figure out where Adam is," Ford says. "We don't want to run into him."

"I hope he's not in the barn," Evan says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because we have to go do our chores now, out in the barn."

"Oh." That doesn't sound good.

We all leave the house and slowly walk over to the barn together.

* * *

When we get to the barn we don't see Adam anywhere. That's a relief. We do our chores and when Guthrie and I are finished we walk back to the house and go inside. We hear Adam talking in the kitchen, so we turn around to go back outside, but Guthrie whispers, "wait, let's listen."

We quietly walk over to the couch closest to the kitchen and sit behind it.

"I know Brian," Adam says. "But just think about this, if Cleo's mom hadn't told Crane how happy Cleo was that we let Ford go to the party, we wouldn't have known about any of this!"

"Ok, then let's think about it this way," Crane says, "why are you mad at Evan and Ford?"

"Because they went to a party without asking..."

Brian butts in, "but if they'd asked you, you would've said no."

"I know that Brian!" Adam yells. "If it was just Evan and Ford out together I would've let them go to the party. But they were in charge of Guthrie! And they left him on Racetrack Road by himself to hang out with his friend. They left him alone!"

"Yeah, I'm kind of mad about that part," Brian says.

"They left Heidi alone too! She's ten! I don't know what they were thinking!" Adam yells.

"I do," Brian laughs. "They were thinking about all the girls that were gonna be at the party!"

"Brian! Try to be serious, I'm so mad at all four of them right now," Adam says. "I need your help in thinking this through."

"Ok, you're right. Sorry."

Crane says, "you know, somehow they tricked Denise's mom into thinking she was talking to you, Adam." Crane says.

"I know! These guys planned this. They knew exactly what they were doing!" Adam yells. "That's what makes me so mad."

"It would've worked too, if Cleo's mom hadn't talked to me," Crane says.

"Maybe," Adam says. And then they're quiet for a while.

"Ok, enough about Ford and Evan. Why are you mad at Guthrie?" Crane asks.

"I'm mad that he went along with the plan without saying anything," Adam says.

"Oh come on Adam! You know he had to do that!" Brian yells.

"So are you saying he didn't do anything wrong?" Adam yells. "Are you saying you don't think any of them did anything wrong? 'Cause I think they did!"

"No I'm not saying that! It's just, think about when you were that age, you would've done the same thing," Brian says.

"Brian I have to be the dad sometimes. I can't always think about what I would've done when I was their age. And you know damn well dad would've kicked our asses if we did something like this!"

I look at Guthrie and we both open our eyes really big and raise our eyebrows at each other.

"What does he mean by that?" I whisper to Guthrie.

"I don't know," he whispers. "Sh!" We go back to listening.

"Brian, think about this," Adam says, "what about Heidi?"

"What about her?" Brian asks.

"She's ten! She's out on Racetrack Road late at night and all alone! When we were teenagers and Daniel was around Heidi's age, we would never have taken Daniel with us. You know that! Heidi got her candy stolen and got all scratched up, and thank god that's all that happened! It could've been much worse!"

I look at Guthrie and I whisper, "how?"

He shrugs his shoulders.

Brian says, "yeah, I guess you're right. I swear I'd like to beat up those bullies for what they did to her!"

Both Adam and Crane agree.

"So, back to Guthrie," Crane says.

"I guess what I'm mad most about with Guthrie is that he went into the haunted house and left her outside alone," Adam says.

"Yeah, I'm mad about that too," Crane says. "At least he didn't let Heidi go inside the house."

They're quiet again and then Crane asks, "what about Heidi?"

Adam groans. "There's a list a mile long for her! I think instead of grounding her and yelling at her I just want to spank her and be done with it!"

I look and Guthrie and I'm scared. "If he's gonna do that, I'm gonna run away!" I whisper.

"What!" Brian yells.

"Come on Brian!" Crane yells. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about doing that to her these last few days! I know I have!"

What! My eyes start to water.

Brian laughs a little. "Yeah, you're right, I have wanted to do that."

I start to cry a little and Guthrie puts his arm around me.

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet," Adam says sighing. "I've been thinking about this all day. I hate being the dad sometimes!"

"I know," Crane says. "You're doing a good job though. Whatever you decide to do I'll support you."

"That's what Hannah said when I talked to her about this earlier," Adam tells them.

"Same here," Brian says. "Whatever you want to do Adam, you know I'll go along with it."

"Thanks guys. I guess I'll talk to them after dinner."

We hear a chair scrape against the floor like someone's getting up. Guthrie and I quickly get up and run over to the front door.

"Should we go back outside?" I ask him.

"I guess so. Let's go wait out in the barn until dinner is ready."

We open the door and run out to the barn.

* * *

Dinner was quiet tonight. It seemed like no one really felt like talking. It was like everyone was thinking in their heads.

After dinner Adam asked Daniel if he'd help Hannah with the dishes. Brian and Crane said they'd help too. Adam told the rest of us to go wait in the living room. We sit on the couches and wait for him. Guthrie and I are on one couch, Evan and Ford on the other.

Adam walks in and sits in the big chair. He just sits there staring at the wood burning stove until Evan yells, "aw come on Adam! This is driving us crazy! Just ground us and get it over with!"

I look at Adam and he looks mad!

"Do you even know how mad I am at all of you!" He yells. "You've crossed a line this time!"

I look at Guthrie and he looks at me and we shrug our shoulders.

"We're sorry Adam," Ford says.

"I hope you are!" Adam yells back. Then he starts yelling more stuff but I don't listen. Sometimes I don't understand everything he says when he yells at my brothers. I start thinking about how he said he wanted to spank me. I don't want him to do that. Is he gonna do that tonight? I hope not. It's dark outside and it's scary to run away at night. But that's what I'm gonna do if he's going to spank me. I'm gonna run away. Guthrie nudges me.

I look at him. "What?" I whisper.

He points to Adam with his eyes so I look over at Adam. He's looking at me and he looks mad.

"You weren't listening, were you?" He asks. He's glaring at me.

"Yes I was." I look at Guthrie and he shakes his head at me. I mouth the word "what" to him.

"Don't look at Guthrie! Look at me and answer the question!" Adam yells.

I slowly say, "yeeees?" Hoping that's the right answer.

Evan and Ford laugh and Adam yells at them.

"Shut up!" He says. "Heidi, go help with the dishes. I'll talk to you later."

I don't want to. What if he spanks me later because no one's around. No, I'd rather be here where everyone else is. I decide to stay.

Guthrie nudges me. "Go," he whispers.

Adam glares at me and says slowly, "if you don't get up and leave now, I will pick you up and carry you into the kitchen myself. And trust me, you don't want me to do that!" He stands up.

"Ok, ok, I'm going!" I yell and I get up and run past him and into the kitchen.

Brian throws me a dish towel and says, "get to work, twerp!" I get started on drying the dishes.

Everyone's quiet in the kitchen. The only noise is from the water running in the sink. I guess everyone's listening. Hannah turns the water on higher so it's hard to hear, but it doesn't take long before Adam and Evan are yelling again. Then we hear the front door slam! Pretty soon it's quiet and someone's talking, so we can't exactly hear what's being said, and then Guthrie comes running into the kitchen.

"Guess what Heidi?" He yells. I look at him. "Adam kicked Evan outside!"

"What!" I yell.

I can hear Brian laugh a little.

"Where's he gonna live?" I cry. "He can't do that!"

Guthrie laughs. "No, not like out of the house for good, but like out of the house because he's gonna yell at him out there!" Guthrie sounds excited. "Adam said something like, 'this is what dad would've done', and he went outside after him."

"Why does he have to take him outside to yell at him? Why can't he just finish yelling at him inside like he has been?" I ask.

"I don't know," Guthrie says. "Maybe he's gonna swear at him and he doesn't want us to hear!"

Brian, Crane, and Daniel laugh and when I look at them they're looking at each other like they know a secret. Then Brian says, "yeah, he probably doesn't want you guys to hear him swear." Then he laughs again.

"Ok boys!" Hannah says. "That's enough! I think we're all done with the dishes in here. Why don't you go find something else to do. Maybe go into town or something?"

"I guess we should go into town," Crane says.

"I know it's a school night for me," Daniel says, "but can I go with you? I really don't want to hang out here with all the yelling."

"Sure," Brian says. "Hannah, do you want to come too."

"No, I'm fine here. You boys go have fun." She smiles at them.

"Oh, we will," Brian says, "we will."

We all walk into the living room together and Ford is still sitting on the couch. Daniel, Brian and Crane get their jackets and put them on as they go out the door. It's quiet inside. Very quiet. Hannah, Guthrie and I sit on the couch. None of us say anything, not even Hannah.

When the front door opens Evan comes inside and he looks mad. He runs upstairs to his room and slams his door shut. Adam comes in and walks over to the big chair he was sitting in earlier.

"I'm hoping none of you will yell or talk back to me so I won't have to send you outside," he says.

Ford and Guthrie shake their heads no, and I say, "I don't want to go out there! It's too cold!"

Hannah smiles at me. She's sitting next to Ford. Adam glares at me and then sits down. I look at Ford and he looks sad. I wonder what happened.

"Ford, let's go talk in the kitchen." Adam and Ford both get up and walk to the kitchen. Ford still looks sad.

"Hannah, how did Adam know what we did?" Guthrie asks her.

She looks at us and smiles. "Adam always says Murphys is a small town and everybody knows everybody's business." She pauses for a minute. "Cleo's mom was at the party last night. If you think about it, almost everyone in town was at the party last night. Everyone that doesn't have little kids, that is." She smiles at us again. "Cleo's mom was talking to Crane about how sad Cleo was all last week because Ford couldn't go to the big party in Sonora. She told Crane she was glad we let Ford go to the party at the last minute. Cleo was so excited she said."

"Did Crane tell Adam that?" Guthrie asks.

"Yes. But Adam didn't believe Evan and Ford would do that. Adam told Crane he thought Cleo's mom must have misunderstood. But Adam was worried about you guys then."

"Why?" I ask. "If he didn't believe it why would he worry?"

"Sometimes moms and dads, or big brothers, worry about their kids, or little sisters and brothers. So I told Adam to call home after nine o'clock to make sure you guys were home safe. And that's what he did. He called from nine o'clock until about nine forty-five and got no answer."

"Was he mad?" I ask.

"No, not then. He was worried. He thought something bad had happened to you."

"Like what?" I ask.

"Oh, just stuff grown-ups worry about. So, he was very worried and I told him we should go home. He didn't want me to go home and worry too, so he had Mr. Miller drive him out to the ranch since he was on his way home too. When Adam got home and you guys weren't there he called Denise's mom."

"Oh," I say. "So she told him what we did."

"I bet he wasn't worried anymore," Guthrie says.

"Is that when he got mad?" I ask.

"I think so. He was still worried though."

"Why?" Guthrie asks.

"Because it was late. It was after 11:30 and you still weren't home. That's when I called and he told me what happened."

"I bet he was pacing," I say smiling.

Hannah looks at me and says seriously, "that's not funny Heidi. He was very worried about you!"

I stop smiling. "He's really mad isn't he?"

Hannah nods. "Yes, he is."

Ford walks through the living room and goes upstairs. He looks like he's been crying. He goes into his room but doesn't slam it like Evan did. Then I hear Evan yelling.

Adam comes in and sits on the couch next to Hannah. He looks at us.

"I'm sorry Adam," Guthrie says.

I look at Guthrie and then at Adam and say, "I'm sorry too."

Adam looks at Guthrie and says, "I'm really mad at you for leaving Heidi alone."

"I'm not mad at him," I say.

Adam looks at me and says, "be quiet. I'm talking to Guthrie right now."

"But I didn't want to go in the haunted house a second time," I say. "It was way too scary the first time, and besides, Evan only gave us one dollar each, so I couldn't go back in."

Adam looks at me and then at Guthrie. Then he gets up out of his chair really fast and goes upstairs to Evan and Ford's room. Then he starts yelling when he opens the door.

"You gave Heidi a dollar to go in the haunted house!" And then the door slams and we can't hear exactly what he's yelling.

Guthrie looks at me and says, "I don't think Evan told him about that part. I don't think Adam knew you went in the haunted house either."

"No, he didn't," Hannah says.

"Heidi, maybe you shouldn't talk anymore," Guthrie says. "Remember what I always say, just answer yes or no."

"Guthrie, don't tell her that," Hannah says. "Heidi, you say whatever you feel like."

"But that's what gets us in trouble! Her big mouth. See, Evan's getting in trouble again," Guthrie says.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," I tell him.

We hear the door open and slam shut upstairs and Adam is walking back down here. He doesn't get very far when he says, "Guthrie, let's go talk in the kitchen."

Guthrie gets up and follows him and I get up and go sit next to Hannah.

"Hannah, do you think I have a big mouth?"

She smiles down at me and doesn't answer.

"You do, don't you!" I laugh.

She hugs me and says, "sometimes."

"But Guthrie says I say things that make people mad. Do you think that?"

"I think you say what's on your mind, and as you get older you'll learn how to control that better."

"Is that good, or bad?" I ask. Because I don't really understand what she just said.

"Good," she says.

"What do you think Adam is talking to Guthrie about?"

"Heidi, you know what he's talking to Guthrie about."

We sit quietly for a little bit and then I realize I'm next! He's talked to everyone but me!

"Hannah, what's Adam going to do when he talks to me?" I ask.

"What do you mean?"

"What's he going to _do_?" I ask again.

"You mean is he going to yell at you or ground you?" She asks.

"Yeah, is there something else he could _do_ though?"

She sighs. "I don't know what you're getting at. Just say what you mean."

Guthrie comes out of he kitchen and says, "Hannah, Adam wants to talk to you in there."

She gets up and walks into the kitchen while Guthrie walks to the stairs.

"What happened Guthrie?" I ask.

"I have to get ready for bed. But I'm sleeping downstairs tonight so I'll tell you when I come back down."

Adam comes in and says, "Heidi, get ready for bed when Guthrie's done."

"Why? Aren't you going to talk to me too?" I ask.

"I don't know yet," he says as he walks back into the kitchen.

I don't like the sound of that.

* * *

When Guthrie's ready for bed I go get ready for bed. When I'm done I go back downstairs to talk to Guthrie.

"What'd he say?" I ask him.

"He grounded me."

"For how long?"

"Two weeks. I also have to work on the ranch for the next two week-ends. And he said we can't play with each other for two weeks."

"What! Why'd he say that?"

"Because he said we get into too much trouble when we do."

"He can't do that!"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Guthrie says. "He's pretty mad. He knows the worst punishment for us is to not be able to do stuff together."

I start to cry. I'd rather have him spank me and be done with it.

"Don't cry Heidi. I'm just glad it's only for two weeks. Adam said we're gonna be too busy to play anyways."

"Two weeks is forever!" I yell.

"Calm down, Heidi. Don't get mad! You say stuff you shouldn't say when you get mad!"

"Well, I am mad! He can't take you away from me!"

Guthrie groans. "Yes he can! Stop saying that or you're gonna get in trouble! He's in charge, remember?"

I cry loud and Adam and Hannah come in.

"Why are you crying?" Hannah asks. She sits down next to me.

"Because Adam's taking Guthrie away from me!"

"It's just for two weeks!" Adam yells. "You'll live!"

"No I won't!" I yell back. "I hate you!" I scream. "You can't do this!" I cry and cry and cry and I see out of the corner of my eye Adam pacing back and forth.

I hear Guthrie groan and Hannah tries to hug me but I won't let her.

"Heidi, stop," she says. "You're having a tantrum. Stop and look at me." She puts her hands on the sides of my face and holds my head so I'm looking at her. I start to calm down. "Look at me. Stop crying. Stop crying!" I let her hug me now and she rocks me and I stop crying.

"Why don't we go upstairs to your room," Hannah says.

We get up and walk by Adam as we go upstairs.

* * *

"Why is he doing that Hannah? Why won't he let us play together?" I ask her while I get on top of my bed.

"You need to talk to Adam about that," she says, sitting down next to me.

"I don't want to talk to him. I think he's mean."

Hannah hugs me. "Well, you're going to have to talk to him." She gets up and I look in my doorway and see Adam standing there.

"Where are you going Hannah? Please stay," I cry.

"No," she says and she leaves.

I look at Adam as he sits down on my bed and I scoot up to where my pillow is. I pick up my pillow, and sit cross-legged on my bed, and lay the pillow in my lap. Now I'm as far away from him as I can get. I'm mad at him.

"We need to talk," he says.

I think about what Guthrie always tells me. Don't say anything or just answer yes or no. I decide not to say anything.

"You did a really bad thing yesterday. You lied, not only to me, but to your friend's family, and you went somewhere you weren't supposed to go."

I'm so mad right now I just want to scream! Why can't I play with Guthrie? I'd better not think about that right now. I'd better listen. But I glare at him.

He keeps talking, "I'm really disappointed in you."

I hate that word, but at least he's not yelling at me. But I'm still not going to say anything. Maybe Guthrie's right. Maybe he's not yelling at me because I'm not saying anything.

"You can't just do things because _you_ want to do them," he says.

"Why not?" Oops, don't say anything.

"You know why not. I told you you're not going to Racetrack Road and you did it anyway. Do you remember our little talk we had the other day about me being in charge?"

I nod.

"I'm in charge _all_ the time. If you don't do what I tell you to do then I punish you. I don't have to tell you that because you already know that. But lately you've been trying to be in charge a lot, and I'm not going to let you do that."

He's making me madder! I keep glaring at him as he talks to me.

"_You_ don't tell me what to do," he says. "_I_ tell you what to do."

That's it! I can't be quiet anymore. "But you can't take Guthrie away from me! He's my brother!"

"Yes I can," he says. He's not yelling, but he's talking very seriously.

I cry. "But I don't want you to do that!"

"I know. I don't want you to lie and I don't want you to go places I tell you not to go to. You are grounded for two weeks. No friends, no Guthrie, nothing. Just chores and a lot of other work around the ranch."

I put my head down in my pillow and cry. "You can't do that!" I yell into my pillow.

"Look at me!" He doesn't yell at me but I know he means it so I look at him. "Do not tell me I can't do that! I don't want to hear those words come out of your mouth!"

I clench my pillow tightly. I just want to throw it at him! I glare at him.

"I know that look," he says. Then he says slowly and seriously, "do not throw that pillow at me!"

I cry and throw my pillow at the wall instead.

"I want to make sure you heard what I said. What words don't I want to hear coming out of your mouth?"

"I thought you didn't want me to say them," I say glaring at him. I shouldn't have said that because he looks really mad now and I know he's going to yell!

"I'm not playing games with you!" He yells. "I'm serious! I do not want to hear those words come out of your mouth ever again! Do you understand me?"

He's yelling really loud and I don't like it. I pick up my pillow and lay it back in my lap and cry into it.

"I said, do you understand me?" He yells again.

I look up and say, "yes."

"What is it that I don't want you to say?"

"You can't do that," I say quietly. Then I go back to crying in my pillow.

"Heidi, we're not done talking. You need to sit up and look at me."

"No, I don't want to! I'm mad at you!" I say crying into my pillow.

He scoots closer and lifts me up. "Look up."

"What?"

"Why are we having a parent-teacher conference tomorrow morning?"

"No!" I yell and put my head back down and cry. "No, I don't wanna talk anymore!"

"Dammit Heidi! Quit being so dramatic and sit up and look at me!"

I sit up and wipe my eyes and look at him. "What?"

"Why am I meeting with your teacher tomorrow?"

Hmmm. Is this a trick question? "Didn't my teacher tell you why?" I ask.

"Not really. She said something about lunch detention and you arguing with her. Do you know anything else about it?"

I stare at him.

"You do don't you?"

I shake my head no slowly.

"I'd rather have _you_ tell me now, instead of your teacher telling me." He looks at me.

I don't know exactly what my teacher is going to say. She might not tell him everything, or she might remember everything. If I tell him now, I might say too much. Maybe I should tell him it's a conference with the principal too. No, maybe Mr. Brick will be absent again.

"I can see you thinking about what you should tell me and what not to tell me. Just tell me now and get it over with. I hate going to these conferences when I don't know what they're about. Just tell me what your teacher's going to tell me."

"I'm not really sure. I had to stay in all three recess today and write sentences. Maybe that's what she wants to tell you."

"She could tell me that with a phone call." He glares at me. "Why'd you have to stay inside today?"

"Because she didn't want me to go outside," I say.

Adam looks tired and he starts rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Ok," he says, "if you don't want to tell me now, I'll just have to wait and hear it from your teacher. But you'd better hope its not more than staying inside today and writing sentences."

"Why?" I ask.

"You'd better hope you don't have to find out."

"What does that mean?"

We stare at each other for a long time. I think I know what it means but if he's not going to say it, I'm not going to. I just hope I'm not right.

"Adam, why did you let Daniel, Evan and Ford come to the fight today?"

"That's another thing we need to talk about."

I groan. "Never mind," I say.

"No. When did you plan this fight?"

"Yesterday," I tell him.

He glares at me. "That's not what Guthrie said!"

"If you already know, why'd you ask?" I yell.

"To see if you'd tell me the truth!"

Oh. "We planned it a while ago," I say, putting my face in my pillow.

"Sit up! Before or after I told you not to fight him?"

"I don't remember the exact day, it was a long time ago."

"I swear to god, if you don't tell me the truth right now...,"

"Ok, ok, I'll tell you. We planned it after you told me not to fight. We planned it for the day after Halloween so we wouldn't get in trouble, and not get to go trick-or-treating. I didn't want you to take that away."

"So when we went to talk to Mr. Brick about Gary, the fight was already planned?"

I nod. "Why'd you let Daniel and them come?"

"Because I know you're afraid of Rick and I didn't want you to get hurt. Also, I'm really tired of them picking on you."

"Do you think they'll stop picking on me now?"

"They'd better."

"Or what?" I ask.

"Or I think Brian's going to kick their you know whats!"

I laugh.

"Bedtime," Adam says.

"But it's not time yet!" I complain.

"It is tonight. Goodnight," he says standing up.

"What! You can't just leave like that without reading me a story!"

"What did you say?" He asks.

"You can't just...oh. I can't say that. Sorry. Will you read me a story?"

"Not tonight. Goodnight," he says and he leaves.

Well, that didn't go too badly. I hardly got yelled at. I'm grounded for two weeks, but I can't play with Guthrie, that's the bad part. At least I didn't get spanked.

I get under my covers and close my eyes. I'm pretty tired from crying a lot today so I go to sleep quickly.

* * *

Why is there blood all over me! It feels wet. I look up and see the man with the axe holding it above my head. He's scary and I scream! He chops me with the axe and blood spurts out everywhere! I scream again! I hit him but he keeps laughing and chopping me. I scream and cry and hit and kick him but he won't go away! Then he starts calling my name while he's chopping me. He leans down and picks me up and yells, "Heidi! Wake up!" I scream and hit him again, but he keeps saying, "wake up Heidi! Wake up!" His voice sounds like Adam's.

I open my eyes and Adam's holding me and says, "wake up! It's just a dream!" I look around at my room. There's no blood anywhere and there's no blood on me. I'm just really sweaty.

"You had a bad dream," he says.

I hold on to him tight and cry. "It was the axe man from the haunted house. He kept trying to chop me!" I cry.

"You're ok. It was just a bad dream."

"But why wouldn't he stop? He wouldn't stop!"

"Sh!" Adam says. He rocks me back and forth. "It was just a dream. Go back to sleep."

The rocking helps calm me down.

"This is why I think you're too young to go in the haunted house, because it gives you bad dreams. It's giving you nightmares!"

"I'm sorry. Just make him go away! Please!"

"Sh! Just close your eyes and go back to sleep," he says, while he rocks me back to sleep.

* * *

It's kind of another quiet morning at breakfast. Evan's mad so he's grumpy. Ford's not talking, he looks sad and he just keeps looking down at his cereal bowl. Daniel and Guthrie are the only ones talking. I'm not talking because I'm thinking. I'm thinking about the parent-teacher conference. I don't know what's going to happen at the conference with Adam and my teacher. I stare at my bowl and move my spoon around in my cereal. I hope Mr. Brick is still absent. I look up when Adam walks into the kitchen.

He looks happy. He walks up to Hannah and gives her a kiss and a hug while she pours him some coffee. My stomach starts to hurt. Why does it always hurt when I feel bad.

Daniel, Evan and Ford take their lunches and leave for the bus. Guthrie leans across the table and whispers, "why is Adam taking us to school today?"

Adam and Hannah aren't listening because they're too busy talking.

"I got in trouble at school."

"What'd you do?" He asks.

"I slapped Amy."

Guthrie looks surprised. "Did you tell Adam?" He whispers.

I shake my head no.

"Tell Adam what?" Adam asks.

"Nothing," Guthrie says.

"Finish getting ready for school," Adam says. "We're leaving in ten minutes."

I take my bowl over to the sink and dump my cereal out.

"How come you're not eating that?" Hannah asks.

"My stomach hurts."

"Are you sick?" She asks.

"Nope!" Adam says. "Her stomach's hurting because I have a conference with her teacher."

I put my bowl down and go upstairs to brush my teeth.

* * *

When we get to school Adam walks with me to my classroom. Everyone is still playing outside because school hasn't started yet. When I open the door and walk into the classroom there's a teacher's aide sitting at Mrs. Wilson's desk.

"Good morning Adam," she looks at him and then at me, "good morning Heidi!" She says. She seems a little too happy to me. "Mrs. Wilson is waiting for you in the office."

Adam looks down at me and I look away. He puts his hands on my shoulders and pushes me gently out of the classroom.

"Look at me!" He yells, but it's not a loud yell it's a quiet yell. It's a mad yell. "What's going on, Heidi?" Why are we meeting in the office?"

I look up at him and say, "we might be meeting with the principal too," I say quietly.

He looks mad! He leans down and says in my ear, "what did you do?" That definitely sounds like a mad yell.

"I might've hit someone."

"What do you mean _might have_?" That's a loud yell.

I just look at him and stare, so he takes me by the arm and leads me to the office.

* * *

Once we're in the office we sit down on the bench outside the principal's door. My teacher is already in Mr. Brick's office.

"You'd better not be getting suspended!" Adam says.

I hope I'm not too.

Mr. Brick's door opens and he walks out and says hello to Adam and makes us all come inside. There are three extra chairs in the office. One is behind Mr. Brick's desk next to his chair. My teacher sits in that one. Adam and I sit in the chairs facing my teacher and Mr. Brick.

Mr. Brick starts. "Did Heidi tell you why we're meeting today?" He asks Adam.

"Not really. She said maybe it was because she had to stay inside yesterday and write sentences."

I look at Mrs. Wilson and she has her mean teacher face on. "Heidi slapped a girl on Tuesday."

"She did?" Adam says. He looks over at me and glares.

"Yes. She slapped a girl and I gave her lunch detention. When I told her I was going to call you she got mad and argued with me." I look at Adam's hand on the arm of the chair. He's gripping it pretty hard.

"But Amy said something really mean to me!" All three of them tell me to be quiet.

Mrs. Wilson continues. "When I changed her detention from two to three, and then from three to five, she told me I _couldn't do that_!"

Adam looks at me and glares. I look down at the floor.

"When I started to change the number again, she told me to write one hundred and then said she would erase the number later."

I realize now, she's not going to leave anything out, and I'm gonna be in big trouble! Adam's knuckles are turning white as he grips the arm of the chair.

"I wrote a note for her to take to Mr. Brick, and she said, and I quote, "Adam will be glad I slapped her. He probably would've wanted me to punch her and he'll want you, meaning me, to erase that detention number after my name," end quote." Man she has a good memory!

Adam lifts his hand up off the arm of his chair and brings it down hard on mine. I wish I didn't put my hand on the arm of my chair. I try to break it free but he's way stronger than I am. He's holding my hand so tight you can't even tell I'm trying to break free.

"When I handed her the note she refused to take it." He squeezes my hand harder. "I had to threaten her to get her to take it!"

"What!" Adam glares at me gain.

"She left my classroom with the note," Mrs. Wilson says.

Then Mr. Brick clears his throat and says, "she didn't have the note when she came in here and she wouldn't tell me where the note was."

They all look at me now. "What happened to the note Heidi?" Adam asks me.

I stare at him and I feel him squeeze my hand harder. It hurts and it makes me start to cry.

"What happened to the note Heidi?" He asks again. My hand is hurting really bad now.

"I threw it away in the garbage can!" I cry. Adam loosens his grip a little.

"Why?" He asks.

"Because I didn't like what it said," I cry.

Mr. Brick starts talking now but I don't listen because I'm too busy crying and worrying about getting in trouble. Am I going to get suspended? I feel Adam hold my hand tighter again. Am I going to get in trouble at home too. He's starting to hurt my hand again.

"Heidi!" Adam yells a little. Not loud like he yells at home. A softer yell, but still a yell.

I look over at Adam.

"Answer Mr. Brick's question," he says glaring at me.

I stare at him. I don't know what he said. Adam shakes his head. "I don't think she heard you," he says.

"Heidi," Mr. Brick says, "what have you learn from all this?"

Adam squeezes my hand tight. "From what?" I ask. Now he's squeezing it really hard.

"Why don't you think about that while you're home and come tell me when you get back," Mr. Brick says.

What's he talking about? Get back from where?

"Please go wait out on the bench, Heidi. I have some papers I need Adam to sign," Mr. Brick tells me.

Adam lets go of my hand and I get up and go out to the bench. I sit down and cry quietly. Usually when Adam has to sign papers it means I'm suspended!

I hear them standing up and coming out of the office. "Let's go!" Adam says.

I walk with him out to the jeep but I almost have to run because he's walking so fast!

"Am I suspended?" I ask.

He stops and looks at me. "Weren't you listening at all in there!" He starts to walk again and then he stops and looks at me. "Why do you think I'm taking you home right now?" He starts walking fast again.

On the way home Adam looks mad but he keeps staring straight ahead the whole way home.

* * *

When we get home Crane and Brian come over to the jeep.

"Why are you home from school?" Crane asks. "And why are you crying?"

"She got suspended!" Adam yells.

"Oh," Crane says.

"Did you get a chance to look at the fence, Brian?" Adam asks.

"Yes. We just need to fix some of the t-bars."

"I'll be out to help you in a little while. Is Hannah inside the house?" He asks.

"No, she's out in the barn feeding the calves. Do you want me to get her?" Crane asks.

"Just tell her to come inside when she's done."

Adam takes me by the arm and leads me to the house.

* * *

Once we're inside Adam starts yelling and I start crying.

"Why didn't you tell me you hit someone!"

"It wasn't a hit! It was a slap!" I yell.

"Same thing! And now you're telling your teacher _she_ can't do things? It's bad enough you're saying it to me!"

Adam is pacing back and forth and it looks like he's getting madder! "There are _so_ many things you did wrong!"

I cry and say, "I'm sorry."

He throws his arms up into the air and yells a frustrated yell.

"You are grounded for three weeks now! No playing with Guthrie for three weeks! Do you understand that?" He yells as he walks into the kitchen.

I follow him in. "That's not fair!" I cry.

Adam turns around and looks at me. "I can make it four weeks!" He yells.

I stomp my foot and yell, "no! You can't do that!"

"Dammit! That's it! This is for the parent conference and this is for Halloween!" He grabs my upper arm and pulls me over his lap as he sits down on a chair.

And then he spanks me. Hard. I don't like it and I try to get away but he's stronger. It hurts and he's not stopping. It hurts even worse now. It makes me cry. Please make it stop. And then he stops.

He pulls me up and moves me so I'm standing in front of him crying. He holds my arms at my sides and looks into my eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again. Do you understand me?" He's not yelling at me, but he's talking in his serious voice.

I nod my head and say, "yes." Then he hugs me and I cry.

"That hurt," I say after a little while. I'm still crying.

"I know," he says quietly.

I pull away a little bit so I can see his face and I say, "I don't want you to do that again. I didn't like it." I hug him and cry.

"Good. I don't want you to say that again." He says quietly.

"I won't. I'm sorry for saying that." I keep crying and he keeps hugging me and then he kisses the top of my head.

After a while I stop crying and Adam says, "Heidi, look at me."

We stop hugging and I look at him.

He looks into my eyes and says, "I don't want to have to spank you, but I will if I have to. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." He stands up.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

He looks down at me and says, "I have to go help Brian with the fence."

"Can I help?"

"No."

We both look over at the front door and watch Hannah come in. Adam starts to walk over to her but I pull on his arm.

"I don't want you to go help Brian. I want you to stay here."

He looks down at me and looks at me funny. He looks like he doesn't understand me.

"No. I'm going to help Brian."

He pulls his arm away from me and walks into the living room and gives Hannah a hug. He whispers something in her ear and then I see her hug him tighter. I wonder what he told her. Then he kisses her and walks over to the front door, puts his jacket on and goes outside.

And then a thought pops into my head. He doesn't love me. That's why he spanked me, and that's why he's leaving now, and why he doesn't want me to help. He doesn't love me. I start to cry.

"What's wrong?" Hannah asks when she comes into the kitchen. She smiles a little and she looks a little sad at the same time.

"Nothing," I say as I put my jacket on and go out the back door. I think I'm gonna go far, far, away.


	19. Not the Next Chapter

**This is not the next chapter in the story. I know it should be and you were expecting that, but it's not. So, don't read this if you don't feel like it, I am writing this short little blurb and posting it hoping it will help me with the final chapter.**

I am stuck. The end of a story is always the hard part for me to write. When I write a story I write it from beginning to almost the end, and then I start posting the story on fanfiction. I go back and figure out where the chapter break is going to be and then edit it. Sometimes I change the chapter and head in a different direction sometimes I keep it as is. But one thing always happens with my stories, I get stuck on the last chapter.

I am stuck now. Would Adam have really spanked Heidi? If Heidi had been a real character on the TV show he never would've spanked her, because they just didn't show that on television. But then again they wouldn't have created such a bratty character to begin with.

On the show it seems like Guthrie, Evan and Ford were always threatened with being grounded. Adam also yelled a lot. But sometimes when one of the brothers did something wrong the other brothers would tease and say, "ooh, Adam's gonna..." I don't remember what the exact words were, "kick your butt, tan your hide, etc." whatever words they used it insinuated Adam was going to do something physical to them instead of just yell or ground them. I could never imagine Adam doing anything physical like that. As a kid watching the show I never knew if that was an empty threat, or if that was the shows way of saying Adam really was the father figure without having to show how he kept control of this sometimes wild bunch. One thing left up to the imagination is how did he discipline the boys over the years when they were little? Because they were little when their parents died.

So, I am stuck. I love writing about Heidi, she is based on a real person who really is a real life, miniature girl version of Brian. Yes, she is a brat. She is stubborn, strong-willed, and hotheaded. She does not think about the consequences of her actions before she does something, and she speaks without thinking. And crazy ideas pop into her head all the time. When she digs for dead bodies in the backyard, she really thinks she's going to find one. She is adventurous, fun, loves life and her family, and those are all things I love about her. (Good and bad.)

So, how to end 'A Haunted House'. Did Heidi deserve to be spanked? Heck yeah. But, would Adam have really done it? I guess I decided he would've but I'm not sure if I like that. (Also, when I wrote about Adam taking Evan outside it really was so he could yell and swear at him without having to scare Guthrie and Heidi. Even though Crane, Brian, and Daniel were insinuating something else.)

One thing I do know about the last chapter is Heidi is not going to run away. But for the first few pages of the chapter she is heading down an angry, mad path, fighting with everyone in her family, as she struggles with the thought of Adam not loving her. But I don't know if I want to head down that path or take a different one.

I wish I could just write they are all one big happy family and they all lived happily ever after. (Actually I don't wish I could write that because that's no fun!) But, eventually in the end of my story, they will all be one big happy family, because that's how I always see them-one big happy family that loves each other a lot.

**Alternate ending to chapter 13 (I don't know why I'm sharing this-I guess I just feel like it. I'm glad the story went in a different direction, and I hope you are too.)**

I look over at the buses and watch my bus start to pull away. I run to try to catch up, but I can't. No this can't be happening! I'm not supposed to walk home by myself. Well, I guess I don't have a choice now. I start to walk home and it starts to rain.

I've been walking for a while now. It's raining hard, and the clouds are really dark, so that makes it look dark outside. All the cars that pass me have their lights on. The side of the road is a bunch of mud puddles, and my feet are soaking wet, and so is the rest of me. I wish I had my jacket. I'm cold and wet and all I want to do is sit down and cry, but I can't. So I walk and cry instead.

I watch each car as it passes by to see if it's the jeep or the truck. As they pass by water sprays up from the tires and gets me wet. The car coming now seems like it's driving faster than the others, because the head lights are coming up on me really fast. I try to move over to the side of the road but this section of the road has big bushes on it. There's nowhere for me to go but stay on the road. The lights are bright and close. I think about running to the other side of the road but there isn't enough time. I hear tires screeching and I put my hands up to cover my eyes from the bright headlights. I feel pain, but only for a second. Everything is white. It's a bright white. All I can see is the light. But then I see someone walk towards me. It's almost like they are floating in the air. I can see now it's two people. When they get closer I can see their faces and they look familiar to me. I've seen them somewhere before. A picture of them I think. They are smiling at me and they hold out their hands for me to take. They make me feel happy so I reach my hands out to them and they pick me up and I feel like I am floating just like them. They take me with them into the light.

**When I wrote this I wasn't sure if Heidi was going to wake up in a hospital or if that would be the end of the story and her.**


	20. Chapter 20

Where should I go? I guess I'll start with going to the river and see where I want to go after that. I start walking. I don't get very far when I see Crane walking over. Oh great! What does he want? I don't feel like talking to him. I don't feel like talking to anyone right now.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

I ignore him and keep walking.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." He says coming up beside me so he's walking with me.

"Go away!"

"Hey," he says trying to pull my arm.

"Don't touch me!" I yell.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Nothing! I just don't want to talk to you!"

"Hey, come here," he says while he tries to stop me.

I push him away hard in his stomach. "I said don't touch me!"

"Heidi! What's gotten in to you!" He yells.

"Nothing! You're not in charge of me so I don't have to tell you!"

"Ok. Stop yelling. Where are you going?" He asks.

"I told you! I don't have to tell you! You're not in charge of me!" I yell. I start walking again.

"Hey! I may not be the oldest, but I'm an adult and I am in charge of you!" He walks with me.

I stop walking and start crying. "Please can you just leave me alone. I want to be by myself. Please?" I look up at him.

"Ok. Tell me where you're going."

"The river," I tell him.

"Make sure you're back before dark. Ok?"

"Ok," I say and I run off.

"Remember it gets dark earlier now!" He yells after me.

* * *

I walk along the river feeling sad and mad. How can I feel both ways at the same time? I don't understand why I feel this way. I pick up rocks to throw in the river. I pick up lots and throw them as hard as I can. I'm so mad I think I'm gonna stay out here forever!

* * *

It feels like I've been out here forever. I've played with rocks, and sticks, and even a turtle. The clouds are dark. They look like thunderhead clouds. It starts to rain. At least I have my jacket on so I'm not cold. I hear people talking so I look over to where the voices are coming from, and I see Guthrie and Ford walking up.

"What do you guys want!" I yell.

"Crane told us to tell you it's time to come home. He wants you to be home before it gets dark and starts raining," Guthrie says.

"I know! He already told me that! And it's already raining!"

"Adam told us to get you too. He's mad that you didn't do your chores, especially because you're grounded and he has lots of other work for you to do."

"I don't care," I say looking down at the ground and kicking a rock. I look up. "You guys are here and you're grounded, how come he's not mad at you?" I already know the answer to that. It's because he doesn't love me. It's because he cares more about them and he doesn't care about me, he's mad at me and wants me to do all of the work!

"We did lots of work," Guthrie says.

"Heidi, he really wants you to come home so he told us to stop working and go get you," Ford tells me.

He doesn't care about me. That's why he sent them instead of coming and getting me himself!

"Come on, let's go," Guthrie says.

"No, you guys go. I'll come back when I'm ready to." Then I start crying and I don't know why.

"Come on Heidi," Ford says. He walks up to me and hugs me and I hug him back. "Let's go."

I shake my head no and Ford stops hugging me. He takes my hand and starts leading me away.

That makes me mad and I don't know why. I yank my hand away and push him.

"Jeez Heidi! Why are you being so mean?" Ford asks.

That makes me cry again. "I don't know!" I yell. "Just go away and leave me alone!"

"Come on Heidi," Guthrie says, "it's getting dark and it's cold. Ford and I want to go back."

"So Ford's your new person to do stuff with since Adam won't let us do stuff together anymore!" I yell. That makes me really mad.

"No! It's cold! Let's go home!" He yells.

"No!" I yell and I start crying again.

"Stop crying!" Guthrie yells. "You're acting like a dumb crying girl! I hate crying girls!"

"Guthrie, stop!" Ford yells.

I'm super mad now! Why is Guthrie mad at me? Adam and Brian hate crying girls too! I've heard them say that before. I rush at Guthrie and push him on the ground.

"Stop!" He yells.

I sit on top of him and punch his nose really hard so it bleeds and then I start to punch him again but Ford is pulling me off of him. Guthrie gets up and kicks me in the shin and it hurts so I cry. I break free from Ford and go at Guthrie again and try to punch him in the face. He puts his hands up and tries to cover his face.

"Heidi! Stop!" He yells. "This isn't fair! I can't punch you back!"

Ford tries to hold me again but I turn around and kick him where it counts.

"Ow!" He yells and lets go of me.

I start to punch Guthrie again and he yells, "if you punch me one more time I'm punching you back!"

I go for his nose again but he ducks fast and punches me really hard in the stomach so I fall down. I can't breathe. I lay on the ground. I know what it feels like to have the wind knocked out of you, and this is it. I wait for it to pass and Ford and Guthrie stand over me.

"You shouldn't have done that Heidi!" Guthrie yells.

"Yeah! Why are you being so mean?" Ford asks.

I just lay there waiting for this feeling to pass. I look at Guthrie and his nose is bleeding a lot! He's been wiping it on his shirt, so his shirt's bloody too. I feel bad. Then I look at Ford and I feel worse. Ford is always nice to me and I hurt him. I start crying again and Guthrie groans.

I sit up. I guess it's time to go home.

"Are you ready to go now?" Ford asks. "Because if you're not I'm going back anyway."

I nod and stand up. We all walk back quietly in the rain.

* * *

"What happened to you guys?" Brian asks laughing at us when we get closer to the house.

"Heidi happened!" Guthrie yells.

That makes me mad so I push him.

"Hey!" Brian yells. "What do you think you're doing! Get over here!"

"She's your problem now," Ford says as he walks by Brian. Then him and Guthrie walk faster to the house.

I walk over to Brian and stop in front of him. I fold my arms across my chest, look up at him and glare. "What!" I yell.

"Hey!" He yells. "Don't take that tone with me!" Now he's glaring at me.

"You're not in charge of me! I don't have to do anything you say!" I yell.

"What? Oh, you're funny!" He yells. "You don't think I'm in charge of you?"

"No," I say it kind of quietly now because he's mad.

He grabs me under my armpit and starts walking me back to the house.

"Ow!" I yell. "You're hurting me!" It doesn't really hurt though.

He stops and yanks me so I'm looking at him. "I'm not hurting you!" He squeezes my arm hard. "Does that hurt?" He asks.

I nod my head yes and start to cry.

He stops squeezing my arm hard and holds it like he was before. "Quit complaining!" He leads me to the house, up the porch steps, through the front door and into the living room. He pushes me down on the big chair and says, "stay here and don't move. Got it?" He glares at me.

I fold my arms across my chest, glare at him and nod my head.

* * *

I'm not sitting here long when Guthrie comes in from the kitchen with Hannah. He's holding ice on his nose and he sits down on the couch with Hannah. He looks at me and we both glare at each other.

"Adam could take you away from me forever and I wouldn't care!" I yell at Guthrie.

"Same here!" Guthrie yells.

"Be quiet. Both of you," Hannah says looking at each of us. She gets up and walks over to me and says, "I'm really disappointed in you, Heidi. You hurt Guthrie a lot."

I ignore her and stare at the stove.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yep."

"Look at me,"

I look up and glare at her.

"What's gotten into you?"

I keep glaring and shrug my shoulders.

"Don't you feel bad that you hurt Guthrie?" She asks.

I stare at the stove again and I feel like crying, but I'm not going to do it with her watching.

"Well, it looks like you just want to ignore me, so get up and help Daniel set the table." She walks back into the kitchen after she says that.

I stay sitting in the chair glaring at the wood burning stove.

"Heidi, how come you're not going in the kitchen and helping?" Guthrie asks.

I glare at him now. "Don't talk to me!" I yell. "Brian told me not to move!"

Guthrie shakes his head at me. "You're gonna get in trouble."

"I said, don't talk to me!" I yell.

The front door opens and Adam and Crane walk inside. They hang up their jackets and when Adam sees Guthrie he says, "what happened to you?"

Guthrie points to me and yells, "her!"

Adam looks at me and I look at the stove again. Now he's gonna hate me worse!

"Did you do that to Guthrie?" He asks.

I keep staring at the stove and shrug my shoulders.

"Yes you did!" Guthrie yells.

"What do you mean you don't know!" Adam asks.

I shrug my shoulders again.

"She was acting like this earlier today," Crane says.

"She was the same way for me," Brian adds when he walks in from the kitchen.

Hannah walks in and looks at me. "I asked you to help set the table."

"What's going on?" Adam asks.

"I asked Heidi to set the table and she's still sitting here."

"What are you doing Heidi? Why are you hurting Guthrie and being mean to everyone?" Adam asks.

I keep looking at the stove and I shrug my shoulders. I don't want to look at him because I know he doesn't like me and that makes me sad.

"Go to your room," he says. See, he doesn't even want to be around me.

I stand up and look at him even though I don't want to. "Ok, but before I go I want to let you know that _he_," I point to Brian, "told me not to move! He thinks he's in charge of me!" I point to Crane and say, "he thinks he's in charge of me too!" I point to Hannah, "so does she!" Then I point to Adam and I say, "you do too! So who is it! Who's in charge! Because I sure as heck don't know!" Then I walk by them, stomp upstairs and yell, "and I don't think you guys know either!"

Then I hear Brian say, "I'll show her who's in charge!"

"Brian, don't!" Adam yells. Then I hear him say, "we all need to talk."

I go into my room. I feel like slamming my door, but if they talk about me I won't be able to hear them. I lay face down on my bed and cry quietly into my pillow, because I don't know why I'm acting this way, and I don't know why I feel this way either.

* * *

I must have fallen asleep, because I wake up when someone yells my name and says dinnertime.

I sit up and stretch. I guess I'll go downstairs. I didn't have any lunch today so I'm hungry. Evan walks by my door and looks in. He stops when he sees me.

"Are you in trouble too?" He asks.

I nod.

"Evan, what did Adam do to you last night when he went outside with you?"

"What do you mean what did he _do_?" He comes in and sits on my bed.

"Did he hit you?" I ask.

Evan looks at me and he looks shocked. "No! Why would you think that?"

I shrug my shoulders. So he only hit me.

"Then what did you guys do out there?"

"He yelled a lot and swore a lot. He was really mad we left you alone Heidi. I'm sorry we did that. We should've never have taken you there."

"But I liked it there," I tell him.

"But you were scared and you got hurt. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Did you get grounded?"

"Yeah. Ford and I got grounded for a month. No rodeo class, no dates, no going into town on the week-ends, and we can't stay home alone with you guys. We have to do lots of chores and work around the ranch," he says.

"Was it worth it?" I ask.

"No, because you and Guthrie could've gotten hurt. I won't do that again Heidi." He scoots close to me and puts his arm around me and gives me a squeeze. "Was it worth it to you?" He asks.

I think about that for a minute. "No. I don't know if Denise is going to be my friend anymore. I bet her mom and dad are mad at me too. Adam won't let me and Guthrie play together for two weeks, I mean three weeks." I feel really bad now about what I did to Guthrie.

Hannah calls us for dinner again. We get up and walk downstairs together.

When we're on the stairs I say, "Evan, I don't like anyone in the kitchen. They're all mad at me."

"I don't like any of them right now either."

"You and Daniel are the only ones that aren't mad at me."

"Just eat quickly and quietly and get outta there. That's what I'm gonna do."

I smile up at him. I wonder if he would run away with me.

* * *

Dinner is quiet for me. I don't talk and I don't look at anybody. I just sit and eat quickly and quietly like Evan said to do.

"Slow down," Hannah says.

I ignore her.

"Heidi, what's wrong?" She asks.

I still ignore her.

"I'm talking to you," she says in her serious voice, "what's wrong?"

I slam my fork down on the table and glare at her. "What do you want!" I yell. The whole room is quiet and everyone is looking at me.

"Heidi!" Adam yells.

I look at him and he looks mad at first, and then he doesn't look mad.

He stands up and says, "come here."

He starts to walk towards the living room but I'm not gonna follow him. I'm gonna sit here.

"I said, come here!" He's almost yelling, but not quite.

But I'm not moving.

"Heidi, go," Crane says to me. He starts to nudge me but I don't budge.

Adam walks over to me and pulls me up and starts walking me out of the kitchen with him, but I'm not gonna walk. He's gonna have to drag me. That doesn't last long because he just picks me up and carries me out. He puts me down on the couch and sits on the coffee table in front of me.

"What are you doing?" He asks. He's not yelling, he's just talking normal.

I shrug my shoulders and stare down at my hands in my lap.

"Why are you yelling at everybody and hitting Guthrie and kicking Ford?" Again he's not yelling.

I shrug my shoulders.

"Is it because of what happened earlier today?"

I start to cry and I shrug my shoulders again.

"It is isn't it? Look at me."

I shake my head no.

"Yes. Look at me." He tries to lift my chin up.

"You can't do that!" I whisper and I try to pull my head away.

"What did you say?" He asks.

"You can't do that," I say a little louder.

"That's what I thought you said."

I look at him to see if he's mad. He doesn't look mad he looks sad.

"You can't do that," I say again, louder than before. "You can't do that. You can't do that!" I keep saying that over and over getting louder and louder while I glare at him.

"Why are you saying that?"

I keep saying it and looking into his eyes until I cry. He pulls me up to hug me and I try to get away but I can't. So now he's hugging me.

"You don't love me," I whisper.

"Yes I do. Why are you saying that?"

I don't say anything I just keep hugging him.

"Do you think I don't love you?" He asks.

I nod my head and say, "yes."

"Well, I do love you." Look at me. I look at him and his eyes are kind of happy and sad at the same time. "I love you Heidi. Do you believe me?"

I shrug my shoulders and shake my head no.

"Then I'll have to show you." He hugs me really tight and I hug him back.

We stay like that for a while until he asks if I want to finish eating dinner. I shake my head no.

"I don't want to go back in there," I say. I'm embarrassed.

"I know you have to be hungry, I hear you didn't have any lunch today."

I shrug my shoulders.

"I'll go get your plate and bring it out here, ok?"

I look in his eyes and nod.

When he comes back he has two plates. Mine and his. He sets mine on the coffee table and I sit on the floor in front of the table to eat. Then he sets his on the coffee table and he sits on the couch.

I look up at him and ask, "what are you doing?"

"I'm eating dinner with you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to." He smiles at me. "Eat."

We sit there quietly while we eat. I can hear everyone talking in the kitchen but I'm not listening to them. I'm thinking about why Adam wants to eat dinner out here with me. I keep looking at him when he's not looking at me. Maybe he does like me. I don't know, maybe he just feels sorry that I'm eating out here alone.

Hannah walks out of the kitchen and asks, "do you guys want any dessert? It's blueberry pie." She smiles at us.

"Sure, I'll have some," Adam says.

"Heidi?" Hannah asks.

"No thank you."

"What? Are you sure?" She smiles really big.

I shake my head no. I was mean to a lot of people today. I don't think I should get dessert. She walks back into the kitchen to get Adam's pie.

"Heidi, we have a lot to talk about," Adam says.

I nod. I don't know what to say about that because I don't know what there is to talk about. Hannah comes back in with two plates of pie. She hands one to Adam and one to me.

"No thank you," I tell her. "You can have it."

She sits down on the couch next to Adam.

"Heidi, what happened today?" Adam asks.

I shrug my shoulders. I have no clue. I was mad and sad and mean.

"Why'd you hit Guthrie?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"Why'd you hit someone at school?"

I look up. "I didn't hit her I slapped her."

"You know that's hitting someone. Why did you do that?"

"Because she said something mean. She asked if I had a fun time talking to my mom and dad with the Ouija board." Then I start crying.

Hannah scoots close to me and rubs my back. "That was a very mean thing to say," she says.

"That's why I slapped her."

"You can't do that," Adam starts to say, but I interrupt him.

"You hit me."

Both Hannah and Adam look at me.

"That's different." Adam says. "I didn't hit you, I spanked you."

"You spanked Heidi?" Guthrie asks as he's coming in from the kitchen.

I look at Guthrie and I feel embarrassed. Then I look at Adam and I feel mad and sad again.

"Now Guthrie knows! You hate me! You don't love me!" I get up and run upstairs to my room. I slam my door shut and sit on the floor and cry.

* * *

I'm not in my room long when the little pink lamp on my dresser turns off. It's pitch black and I'm scared. I hear Guthrie yell "blackout!"

I hate blackouts. They scare me. I start crying and I hear Adam yell, "I'm coming!"

I know he's talking to me because Guthrie's not afraid of power outages anymore. I get up and open my door and see Adam coming up the stairs with a flashlight. I run to him and he picks me up. I hug him tight as he carries me downstairs to the couch and gives me his flashlight.

I look around the house and watch everyone running around and getting candles out and finding flashlights. Usually when we have a power outage it lasts all night. Guthrie comes over and sits next to me.

"Did Adam really spank you?" He asks.

"Shut up and leave me alone!" I yell and I push him.

Daniel comes over and picks me up and puts me on the other couch, "let's stick you over here."

"Guthrie, why don't you go do your homework in the kitchen with the boys. They've got the candles set up now," Hannah says.

Guthrie leaves and Hannah sits in his spot, and then Adam comes and sits next to me. I'm still mad at him. I get up.

"Where are you going?" Adam asks.

"In the kitchen. I'm gonna do my homework."

"You don't have any, remember?" He says. "Your teacher gave me some work for you to do and you can do it tomorrow."

"Why? I'm not going to school tomorrow?"

"No, you're still suspended," he says.

I don't want to stay home tomorrow. I walk towards the kitchen.

"Sit back down."

"I'm gonna go watch them do their homework."

"No, we're going to talk now. You're going to sit here and listen. You're not going to run up to room either. Ok?"

I sit back down and pick up the flashlight.

"Earlier today you were talking about who's in charge, do you remember that?" He asks.

I nod and turn the flashlight on and shine it on the candle sitting on the coffee table.

"I think you already know the answer to that don't you?"

I nod and turn the flashlight off.

"Who's in charge?"

"Everybody but me," I say shining the flashlight on the candle again.

"Would you stop that. I'm being serious."

"So am I!" I yell. "Everybody's always telling me what to do!" I shine the flashlight on Adam. "You are," I shine it on Hannah, "you are," and then I shine the light all around the room, "and everybody else does too that lives here!"

"Give me that," he says taking the flashlight out of my hand.

Then he starts talking about something but I don't hear what it is because a horrible thought pops into my head. If Adam can spank me then can't Brian or Crane do that too? They're all my brothers and they're all adults and I heard them say they wanted to. I look over at Hannah. Could she?

"Heidi!" Adam yells.

I look at him. "I want to go to bed now."

"What?"

"I want to go to bed. Can I have the flashlight. I want to go to bed."

"We're talking now, and you're supposed to be listening and I don't think you are. Were you listening to what I just said?" He asks.

I start to cry. "I want to go to bed now!"

"What's wrong with you? You look scared." He looks at me. "Are you scared of something?"

I nod my head. "I want to go to bed."

"What's wrong? We're having a power outage and you never want to sleep in your room when we have one. It's not even bed time yet. What are you scared of? You're not thinking of ghosts again are you?"

"Adam, If she wants to go to her room I think she's scared of something down here," Hannah says.

"Are you?" He asks me.

I nod my head and keep on crying.

"What?" He looks around the room. "Us? Me and Hannah?" He looks at me. "You're afraid of us? Why?"

I nod my head. He scoots close to me and picks me up so I'm on his lap and Hannah comes and sits next to us.

"What are you scared of?" Hannah asks.

"That you're going to spank me."

"Me?" She asks.

I nod.

"Heidi, I'm not going to do that."

"What about Brian and Crane?" I ask.

"No," Adam says. "Heidi you need to listen to me now. Look at me." I look up at him and he says, "I'm in charge of you and I know you know that. Right?"

I nod.

"I'm also in charge of Guthrie, and Ford, and Evan, and even Daniel until he graduates high school. I was in charge of Crane too before he graduated high school. Brian and Crane help me. They help me with you guys and they help me with the ranch. They're adults and if they tell you to do something you do it. Just like you've always done. But they're not going to spank you. Ok? I want to make sure you understand that."

I nod.

"Good. But you can't tell them they're not in charge of you."

"Why? They're not in charge, you are."

"Because when you say that you're being rude."

"Oh." I think about that for a minute. "Is that something I say that makes people mad?" I ask.

"Yes, when you say it meanly like Brian and Crane told me you did, it's rude. Do you understand that?"

I nod. I guess I do.

"Good. Now are you still scared of us?" He asks.

I shrug my shoulders.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Hannah asks as she tickles me.

That makes me laugh. "Can I have the flashlight back?"

"No, we're not done talking," Adam says.

"What else is there to talk about?"

"You've got to apologize to some people."

"I know. I think I have to say sorry to everyone except Daniel and Evan."

"You also need to apologize to Denise's mom."

Oh no. I can't do that.

Then Hannah asks, "have you apologized to Denise yet?"

I shake my head no. "She doesn't like me anymore. She said she almost got in trouble because her mom thought she knew what I was doing. Denise won't talk to me."

"Tomorrow we can call Denise's mom and you can say you're sorry," Adam says.

"Tomorrow? I don't want to. Why do I have to do that when she's just going to stay mad at me?"

"Because when you hurt someone, you have to apologize. It's the right thing to do," he says. "Why don't you go start with your brothers."

"Ok. Can I have the flashlight back now? It's dark over there."

"No, there's plenty of light coming from the kitchen."

I get up and walk to the kitchen. Who should I say sorry to first? I guess Ford, he's the easiest. Guthrie's gonna be the hardest. When I walk into the kitchen it's really quiet. Daniel, Evan, Ford and Guthrie are sitting at the table doing their homework. I walk over to Ford.

"Ford?"

He puts his pencil down and looks at me.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I kicked you in the nuts."

Daniel and Evan start laughing and Ford just looks at me and doesn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," I say again.

"I heard you." He picks up his pencil and starts doing his homework.

"Aw come on Ford," Evan says. "Can't you see she's sorry?"

"You weren't there Evan. She was really mean today," he says.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you." He's ignoring me and that makes me feel sad so I start to cry. I put my hand on his arm and say, "please believe me. I'm really, really sorry."

He looks at me and says, "don't cry Heidi, it's ok." He gives me a hug.

"The tears got to you Ford, didn't they?" Daniel says laughing, "it's always the tears. It gets me every time."

"Same here," Evan says.

Ford laughs. "Yeah, they get to me every time too."

"Well, they're not going to get to me!" Guthrie says.

I look at him and he looks mad. He's glaring at me. This is going to be harder than I thought. I walk over to him.

"Guthrie, I'm sorry I punched you." He keeps on glaring at me. "I'm sorry I said Adam could take you away from me forever and I wouldn't care. I would care. I'm gonna miss playing with you for the next three weeks."

"You mean two weeks," he says. He's still glaring but only a little bit.

"No, it's three now."

"Why is it three? That's not fair," Guthrie says, he looks sad now.

"It's three because I got suspended. Guthrie, I'm sorry I was so mean." The tears start falling again, but I don't want him to see them so I turn around and wipe my eyes. It's not as bright in here either with just the candles lit on the table, so maybe he didn't see them.

"Heidi, it's ok. Don't cry," he says. He stands up and gives me a hug. Then he whispers, "were you mad because Adam spanked you?"

I nod. "I think so," I whisper back.

"I'm sorry he did that." Then he stops hugging me and sits back down.

"See," Daniel says smiling, "I'm telling you, it's the tears! They get you every time!" He reaches over and grabs me and pulls me into a one armed hug. I laugh.

"I guess I should go find Brian and Crane now. I have to say I'm sorry to them too." Daniel lets go of me. "Do you know where they are?" I ask.

"Nope."

I walk back to the living room and over to Adam and Hannah. I stand in front of them.

"Do you know where Brian and Crane are? They're not in the kitchen."

They both say no and then Adam says, "come sit with us."

I squeeze in the middle and Adam puts his arm around me and I lean against him. We're all quiet and that's ok with me because I have a lot of thinking to do. I know how I'm going to apologize to Brian and Crane, but how do I apologize to Denise's mom. How do I apologize to Denise? I guess I never thought lying could hurt other people. I feel bad about that. I think about how Denise was sad yesterday. Wait, she was sad. She wasn't mad. She even told me good luck for my fight with Gary. Maybe she'll forgive me. Maybe she'll be my friend again!

I look up at Adam and Hannah. They're talking quietly to each other. I need to apologize to them too, but not yet. I snuggle closer to Adam. Maybe he really does still love me, because it sure feels like he does right now. I think this is the first time today I've felt happy and I smile.

* * *

**Thank you for reading and reviewing. Especially for the reviews for the 'Not the Last Chapter' chapter. They helped a lot!**


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